Sons of the Fang
by TaintedYoukai
Summary: Inu No Taisho had a son with a human before Inuyasha, using the Shikon Jewel to make him a demon. The results are a savage beast, who finds himself traveling with Inuyasha, learning about the truth behind his father's death,and meets a beautiful demoness.
1. Prologue: Born of the Shikon No Tama

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Inuyasha; they are the property of Rumiko Takahashi._

A/N: Hi all. One thing before we get started, _italics_ indicate a person's thoughts. When I began reading FanFictions I was a bit confused, so this note goes out to all of you new to FanFics.

Also (**READ THIS)**: This prologue is to get the readers up to speed with the original character. Inuyasha, Kagome, Shippo, Sango, and Miroku are in this story, and it will focus on that group mostly, but they are not in the prologue. It is important to read this.

**Sons of the Fang**

**Prologue: Born of the Shikon No Tama**

**400 years before Inuyasha was sealed to the Goshinboku.**

The kingdom stood in anxious anticipation of their Lord's return. He had not come back from his travels in the east for some time, and many began to wonder whether a human had indeed captured his heart, as the rumors described. Hundreds, if not thousands of demons lined the gates of the Western Lands. The carriage that harbored their Lord stopped thirty feet from the gates entrance. Many of the demons spoke among themselves, sounding very excited.

'Open the gates! It is the Lord!' a demon called from the battlements. 'Make sure our Lord is greeted appropriately,' he mentioned to another demon wearing very official-looking clothing, 'I want the Lord to know that we never lost faith in him.' _I don't think the Lord can suffer more sadness this day; some of these rumors speak the truth._

The Lord stepped from his carriage, an infant in his arms. The people, not expecting their Lord to have fathered another child, gasped at the sight. The Lord looked at the people, then at the child, then at the ground. He knew they would not approve of his taking a mortal as a mate, why was he acting ashamed? He understood the risks when he had pledged his love to her.

He walked to the entrance of the main hall of his castle. He longed only for sleep, the child and the three day journey took most of his energy. Although he did not show it, he was fatigued.

'Welcome back my Lord. We have not been the same since you left,' the demon greeted the Lord, his voice tinged with sarcasm. He stood tall, perhaps six and a half feet, and his body was lithe.

_Kichiro. Why did I leave that snake in charge of my lands? Why not my son? Ah, I remember, my first born is a bit on the cruel side. _The Lord smirked inwardly and wondered why he had not taken his son's advice and done away with Kichiro.

'Kichiro thank you. Your words mean much to me.' _Snake._

'My Lord,' Kichiro announced, 'if you will follow me, we have urgent matters to discuss that involve the Western Lands.' The demon motioned as if to allow the Lord to pass. Before he was able to direct the Lord any further, a voice sounded from the interior of the hall.

'Kichiro, step aside and let my father rest before he undertakes any your _important_ matters,' said the cold, unfeeling figure, who was now standing directly behind Kichiro. His eyes were an amber golden color, the same as his father's. His forehead was marked with a crescent moon.

'Of course Lord Sesshomaru,' Kichiro stated, 'how could I have been so foolish?' _Curse that prince, always getting in the way! The Western Lands are more important that his father. If he was not the Lord Inu no Taisho's son, I would have had him killed long ago._

**The Western Lord's Chamber**

'Thank you Sesshomaru, I am much too tired to discuss politics with Kichiro. He and I don't often see eye to eye,' Inu no Taisho said.

'That was not my only reason, father. I wish to speak with you about this child, and his mother. Is it true that she has been killed?'

'Yes.' Inu no Taisho looked down at the ground for a second time that day in shame. He was not able to save her. He could not fend off mere humans, and had allowed himself to be lured away from her side. He should have known better! _Damn, she was killed by her own family. I can't imagine how rejected she felt in her last hour. Not even I was there with her. At least I had the child with me._

'I see you are still grieving, so I will not press the matter of, what was her name, Natsumi?' Sesshomaru emotionlessly added. 'The subject I will discuss, however, is this child. You cannot allow a mere half breed to become heir to the Western Lands, it would weaken the bloodline.'

The Lord smiled grimly. 'You are correct Sesshomaru; he cannot become heir to the throne. That is your position and yours alone. However, he is a full demon, like you.'

Sesshomaru's eyes widened slightly. _What? Has my father gone insane? Wait. The infant's smell is that of a full fledged demon. How? The child possesses all of the features of a half dog demon. How was such a thing possible? Unless…_

'The Shikon no Tama.' The dog prince looked at the infant with disgust, them at his father in disappointment. _The Shikon Jewel is a disgrace. Its power is nothing compared to true power like mine, or that of my father's. It is unnatural, and it manipulates the soul._

'Sesshomaru, I am your father; your blood relative. I know what you must think of me. Believe me when I say that I would think no different if I had not experienced the loss of someone so dear to me.'

His words were heartfelt. Sadness lurked at the edges of Inu no Taisho's voice. Sesshomaru could see he was not making excuses; not that he would need to make excuses for his son. He deserved the chance of explaining himself.

'I understand, father.'

'I loved Natsumi, Sesshomaru. She was everything to me. Her father did not approve of her being with a demon. She died by his hand, when she was away from my side. I cannot afford to lose this child. He is all I have left of her. That is why I used the Shikon Jewel. My heart was pure; this child is not corrupted. I could not take the chance of his being persecuted as a half demon in his homeland. He has suffered enough.'

_Father has given some thought to this. However, there is still the matter of his half breed features._ 'I see, why does he look like a half breed?' Sesshomaru paused and looked at the child for the first time. He had silver hair down to his back, tiny claws and fangs, and the traditional dog demon markings. His most profound physical feature, the two dog ears that perched on the top of his head, was definitely a half breed feature.

'Sesshomaru, you will treat him with respect. He is your brother and he is no less of a demon than you are.' Inu no Taisho paused when he heard Sesshomaru smirk at the comment. 'And,' the Lord continued, 'he looks like a half _demon_, not a half _breed_.' He sighed as Sesshomaru smirked again.

'Surely the child could not have escaped from the Shikon Jewel's tainted energy so easily. Are you certain nothing else is wrong with him?' _That came out harsher than it was meant to be._

Inu no Taisho's face took on a serious look. 'I will not know for certain, Sesshomaru, until the healer examines him.

'Then I will leave you to your rest father.' He turned and began walking away. His father sat on the edge of a large bed with elegant sheets. He sighed heavily, and was about to close his eyes and embrace the darkness of sleep when his son spoke again.

'By the way, father, what is the child's name?'

'Inunobu.'

_A combination of two names, interesting; it suits him._

**Two days later**

There was a knocking sound at the door. It was soft and timid. Inu no Taisho's enhanced senses had picked up the sound of the footsteps and the scent of the person. He could tell it was the healer. She was always very faithful, but she never seemed to be able to tell bad news without seeming guilty.

'Enter,' the Lord stated.

The healer, a dog demoness, with subtle beauty and grace walked through the doorway. Her footsteps were also timid. _She must bring me bad news. Perhaps using the Shikon no Tama on Inunobu was a worse choice than I had first imagined it to be._

'My Lord, I have examined your son thoroughly. For an infant his demon aura is incredible. I am sure his power will be great. My Lord, what is the matter?' she questioned as she saw his surprised expression.

'I was expecting bad news is all, please continue,' he said warmly.

'Please,' she added almost sadly, 'be patient my Lord, the news is not all good. Your son, as I have said, is going to be very strong indeed. However, I have not heard him make a single sound besides a low growling noise. He did not cry, laugh, or even respond with anything more than a cold glare. If we attempted to touch him, he would very angry.

Inu no Taisho laughed half-heartedly. _Sesshomaru would already have a reason to convince his father that using the Shikon no Tama on Inunobu was a bad choice._ 'I'm sorry Hana; it's just that my first born son, Sesshomaru, thinks less of me for what I have done. It seems the news was not as bad as I feared it would be, at least he has no physical defects.'

Hana winced at this remark. 'There is one more thing my Lord. The assistant healer, Hanako, is dead.'

'What! How?'

'Inunobu…he killed her.'

'He is merely an infant, how is he capable of such a thing?'

'My Lord, I am sorry but I do not know, I turned my back to fetch some herbs and when I looked back at Inunobu his claws were in Hanako's throat.'

_Damn it all, he must have absorbed more of the tainted jewels energy than I first thought. What have I done?_

**One Hundred Years Later**

Inu no Taisho had gone away to the east again. His sons did not approve. He had left earlier that day, and Sesshomaru and Inunobu agreed to practice their fighting together to work off some steam, thought neither admitted that the reason for their aggression was their fathers recent departure. The guards and other fighters in the dojo had learned to stay away from the battling brothers. Several onlookers had been killed in Inunobu's crossfire in previous battles.

'You're worthless!' A whip of green light struck Inunobu hard in the chest, knocking him to the ground. Sesshomaru received a low growl in response to his attack. Inunobu rose from a position on his back with a quick leap and charged at Sesshomaru, claws bared and fangs gleaming. Sesshomaru dodged in a blur of demonic speed, and Inunobu received another whip to the chest.

'Inunobu, learn restraint, you will never defeat anyone fighting like a beast. You must use your mind.' _I don't understand, father says he speaks with my younger brother, but I have never heard him utter a single sound to me other than a 'yes' or a 'no', and he rarely ever addresses me by my name. He simply waits for me to notice him. His respect of our father is well-founded, and the fact that he honors father's presence so much is noble, but this gets him no where. We dog demons are not beasts. Perhaps the Shikon Jewel transferred a great amount of savage and malevolent energy to Inunobu._

Inunobu watched Sesshomaru, knowing that his elder brother believed himself to be winning. _Watch and learn, you fool. Just because I don't talk much doesn't mean I can't think._ Inunobu lunged directly at Sesshomaru again, but this time he was lower to the ground. The green whip flashed once again but Inunobu was low enough to the ground to jump off it, above the whip. He flew into the air, and in a similar burst of speed, like that of his brother, he came within striking range. _Die._ He unleashed from his fingertips a blood red whip of energy and hurled it with incredible force at Sesshomaru, striking him in the face and sending him to the ground.

'Impressive,' Sesshomaru said casually as he rose, 'but I win. The agreement was first to five hits. If I am not mistaken, I struck you as you made your final attack.'

Inunobu only gazed at the older demon. Then his lips turned up into a slight smile, and he turned away and walked in the other direction.

**200 Years Before Inuyasha Is Sealed**

Sesshomaru walked down the halls of his newly acquired castle. After his father had died three days ago, he searched the grounds for Inunobu, but it seemed his younger brother was out hunting. A noise caught his attention. It was the sound of bare feet running on stone. Only one demon dared to walk with such indecency in this castle. _Inunobu._ He rounded the corner of the next hallway and came face to face with his younger brother.

'Is what the attendants say the truth?' Inunobu demanded. His eyes were dead serious, and now was not the time to point out to him that he was conducting himself as a civilized demon, and not a savage beast.

'I am afraid so,' the older dog demon responded, 'Inunobu…our father is dead.'

'How and by whose hand? Father must be avenged.'

Sesshomaru's gaze hardened. _Inunobu does not need to hear all of this story, I cannot trust him to act with discretion. Perhaps some day I will tell him the full circumstances. For now, the basics are fine._

'I am afraid revenge will be impossible. Father sealed the demon that mortally wounded him with his fang. It was a very large dragon demon, named Ryuukotsusei. Father died later, trying to save a mortal woman, Izayoi and his half breed newborn son Inuyasha. He was crushed in the burning debris of a mansion, along with his mortal opponent, Takemaru.'

Inunobu's expression instantly turned to one of rage. 'Where is this Inuyasha and his mother?'

'You cannot slay them; I promised father that I would keep them under my protection until Inuyasha was capable of fending for himself. I do not like the prospect of defending that filth any more than you, Inunobu.' The brothers both turned and walked away in opposite directions.

**A Day Later**

'Have you found him?'

'No my Lord he is gone. Our scouts have reported seeing him leaving the Western Lands.'

_Damn. _Sesshomaru thought to himself and paced around his study at the same time. _I should not have told Inunobu about our father's death without making sure he was not in a position to run. I was foolish. It is no matter; I cannot pursue Inunobu right now. I have other things to take care of. Mainly what to do with my father's kingdom, and secondly, sheltering that mortal woman Izayoi and her filthy half breed son Inuyasha. How could father make the same mistake twice? _Sesshomaru let out a long, tired sigh. _One day Inunobu, I will find you. Be prepared, little brother._

A/N: That's the premise of the story. A note to readers; if you don't review, I won't know that you are reading, so please, it's not hard to make a review. Just a couple words so I know someone is out there.


	2. Chapter 1: Unexpected Encounters

_Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from Inuyasha._

A/N: Alright, now for those of you who were disappointed that the Inuyasha group was not in the prologue, read this chapter and you will be pleased.

**Chapter 1: Unexpected Encounters**

**Present Day**

'This food is terrible, what the hell is in it anyway?'

'SIT!'

A figure draped in red hit the ground with a sickening thud. A raven haired girl stood up and began to walk away from him. She was very beautiful, and very young. Neither the man dressed in red nor the girl seemed pleased at the moment.

'I can't _believe _you! It took me at least an hour to make that. A little gratitude once in a while would be appreciated!'

'You can _have_ my gratitude _if_ the food is any good. And it wasn't!'

'SIT! I'm going to take a walk in the woods for a while, and don't follow me or I'll s-i-t you into oblivion Inuyasha.' She stomped off in the other direction. _Why do I even bother?_

'Kagome! Hey I didn't say you could leave! Damn it all, what did I do anyway? I was just telling the truth. OW! What did you do that for Miroku?' Inuyasha responded to the monk who had just smacked him on the head with his staff.

'Kagome made those for you, Inuyasha.'

'Yeah learn some manners!' yelled a young fox demon at Inuyasha's feet. He received a stomp on the top of the head as a response.

'So what do you want me to do go after her?' Inuyasha asked. _I don't much like the idea of being sat 'into oblivion'._

This time it was a demon slayer who spoke up. 'Didn't you hear her Inuyasha? Give her some space.' A light growl was his response. She sighed.

**In The Forest Nearby**

A white and silver blur raced among the tree tops and flew through the branched at dizzying speed. He was so hungry. It had been days since his last real meal. He stopped as he smelled something strange and switched direction to investigate it. He caught another scent, a human. Most likely it was a young female. They never made good meals, always so skinny and flimsy. The other smell was definitely that of a demon, and it was too good of a prospect to pass up.

As he came closer to the source of the scent he slowed his paced and quieted his movements. Then he spotted it. It made absolutely no noise when it walked, and it took the shape of a small ghostly girl. He was disappointed, but it would take more time to retrace his steps to the human girl he had smelled earlier, and his hunger could not wait. He leapt into the air, somersaulted around to the front of the demon. She was carrying a mirror. _Why a mirror, what good does it serve?_ She was looking straight at him, yet not focusing. Almost as if…she was looking at something close behind him. _Clever, it was a trap. Yet I don't know anyone around this area._

With a snarl he wrenched his arm around and his claws met fur. The figure was too quick to hit with a wild blow like that. He turned to face his opponent. _What in hell? A baboon?_ _I see; there is a demon underneath the fur._

'Excellent job, Kanna,' stated the demon as he removed the baboon mask, revealing crimson eyes and flowing black hair. After being congratulated, the small apparition-like demon vanished into the air.

'You bear a strong resemblance to another demon; I wish to know if there is a connection between you. Tell me, do you know Inuyasha?'

The demon stared, his golden eyes piercing into the crimson eyes of the other. _This demon is repulsive. I will do this world a favor and kill it. It wouldn't even make good food. _He pivoted off the ground at the crimson-eyed demon and ripped a hole through the center of his head. To his surprise, the torn flesh healed immediately. The golden-eyed demon growled.

'My you are a lively one. Why do you not speak? Am I permitted to know the name of my new opponent?' he smiled 'I will go first then demon, I am Naraku.'

_My name? It has been so long since I have spoken my name. What was it? Inunobu sounds familiar. _Inunobu laughed quietly. _However, Naraku, the dead do not live long enough to know my name!_

With that he flung himself at Naraku and took more pieces out. After ten minutes the fight was going no where. Inunobu slashed piece after piece of this demon. Naraku regenerated, but how? Inunobu noticed his closed right hand. _Have I ever seen him open it? The secret to his power must be hidden in his right hand! I will have to trick him._ With that thought he launched himself at Naraku, as numerous tentacles emerged from the crimson-eyed demon's body. The tentacles wrapped around Inunobu.

'You are indeed a strong demon. I will absorb you into my flesh!' Naraku yelled, only to notice too late that Inunobu had his claws imbedded in Naraku's right wrist. Glowing green poison flowed from the nails on Inunobu's claws and dissolved the skin on the wrist, finally wrenching the hand free of the arm that bound it to Naraku's body. The tentacles released the dog demon in surprise.

'Die.'

Inunobu jumped to a good distance away and sliced Naraku apart with a gleaming red light whip.

He took Naraku's hand that he had just severed and opened it, revealing a shiny purplish gem. It was cracked on the top. _This gem seems odd; do I know it from somewhere? Regardless, I don't like it._

**At Camp**

The group had gone silent, with the exception of Inuyasha's nervous fidgeting. He was getting more impatient by the minute. _Damn you Kagome, you can't be that mad at me. It was only food. Besides, there are demons out to get us. She's going to end up being eaten._

Inuyasha was awoken from his thoughts to the sounds of a very sound slap across the campsite. He turned to find exactly what he expected; Miroku with a red handprint on the side of his face and Sango, the demon slayer, fuming and glaring at the monk. Inuyasha and Miroku sighed.

'Perverted monk.'

'It's this damned hand, I keep telling you!'

'Grow up,' said a bored looking Shippo.

'Will you guys all just SHUT UP!' Inuyasha yelled.

'Perhaps,' said the monk as he made his way over to where Inuyasha was seated, 'you should go look for Kagome now. She has been gone for a long time, Inuyasha. She is more disappointed than angry at this point; your presence should comfort her.'

'_Every_ time she tries this stunt with the food we always end up in a fight. Why doesn't she just learn that the foods from her time are too spicy for me? It's not like I'm insulting her, I just can't eat that kind of food. It's not like I _wanted _my tongue to burn every time I put a bite into my mouth!'

'Inuyasha I am indeed impressed that you can identify what the problem is; it's a step in the right direction,' said a smiling Miroku to a glaring Inuyasha, 'but the one you should be saying that to is Kagome, not me.'

'Keh.'

**With Kagome**

_I've been walking for a while now. Maybe I should go back to camp and try to make up with Inuyasha. It was just a misunderstanding. I'm making a big deal out of nothing. Besides, it's not like everyone has to like my cooking. Maybe Inuyasha really can't…_She trailed off in her mind as she sensed an enormous shard of the Shikon Jewel approaching. The only one who possessed that kind of jewel was Naraku. She has left her bow at camp. _What was I thinking wandering off this far? _

The jewel shard came closer. It was heading straight towards her, and when she felt like it was right on top of her she sank to her knees and closed her eyes, awaiting the worst. She opened her eyes slowly. Nothing had happened. Her eyes shot up to where she sensed the jewel.

Her hunter was Inunobu, who stared at the odd human girl from far above in the trees. _Her clothes are so odd. What is she? _Her eyes looked straight up at him, right to the place where he was hiding. He froze. _She can see me, or perhaps sense me. But how? She is no demon slayer. Of course, the jewel! _He realized the bauble must hold some kind of magical properties. _I will show myself to this human; she has no weapons._

Inunobu dropped from the highest tree in the forest. It was perhaps 60 feet to the ground, but he made the leap effortlessly. The girl followed the feeling of the jewel, not really tracing Inunobu's movements. He was a bit surprised to see that she was not running. _This deserves more of a test. _He held out his hand, as she watched in interest. He unclenched his fist to reveal a large fragment of the Shikon no Tama. Her eyes widened.

'Where did you get that?' she questioned innocently yet eagerly.

He cocked his head a little to the right at her question. She seemed taken aback by this, and continued to gaze at him. To answer her question, he took out a mask of a baboon that was tucked into his clothes as a trophy from his last battle and dropped it on the ground in front of him. She gasped.

_Naraku's mask? He killed Naraku? This must be a trap. He is completely unharmed. He has no wounds or injuries. Just what kind of demon is he? Why does he have dog ears like Inuyasha? He does not seem like he wants to harm me, at least, not yet._

'I'm sorry, but I need that Sacred Jewel Shard, please give it to me.' _I'm pleading with a demon to give me a jewel shard, this is a new low._

To her increasing surprise he seemed to blur in a flash of speed to a stop about half a foot away from Kagome. _She wants this ridiculous gem. She's too much of a hassle, she can have it; this jewel feels odd anyway._ He took her wrist with his hand and inwardly winced when her eyes filled with fear. _Foolish human, I am not trying to harm you._ She stopped pulling away when he refused to let go.

'What are you doing?' she murmured. Her voice could not go any louder, she was too afraid. _His eyes are so cold. They remind me of Sesshomaru's._

Inunobu squeezed the sides of her wrist to force her hand open. He then took his right hand, the one with the jewel, and placed it in hers, so that both of his hands held hers, making sure it did not escape. Then, Inunobu dropped his hands. She looked down at her palm and saw the jewel. _It's the real jewel. This demon gave me Naraku's actual jewel fragment. So then, he really did kill Naraku. She couldn't be sure. _She looked up and noticed that he had begun to walk away. His back was turned to her and he was steadily retreating. It was then that she good her first good look at this demon. He looked almost like a mix between Inuyasha and Sesshomaru; even his clothes were a mix. His hair and ears were almost an exact copy of Inuyasha's, except this new demon's hair was longer, and he did not have the bangs on the side of his head like Inuyasha. His eyes were the same golden hue as both of the brothers, but they were cold and unfeeling, like Sesshomaru's. He had demon markings on his cheeks and wrists, and was dressed in all white but wore no shoes.

'Wait, I need to ask you a question.' As a response he stopped moving and shifted his head partially back towards her, with one ear pointed in her direction. 'Did you kill that demon dressed in the baboon pelt? Was his name Naraku?' He nodded. 'It wasn't a demon puppet?' she persisted. He shook his head, and then continued walking out of her range of sight.

_I suppose now is as good a time as ever to return to camp. Inuyasha can't be too upset to learn that Naraku is dead and that I have his jewel shards._

**At Camp**

Miroku the monk looked bored. Inuyasha still had not gone and searched for Kagome, and it was nearing dusk. Surely the girl's disappearance for so long meant something had happened. It was useless arguing with the half demon. He was too stubborn, and even forbade anyone else in the group from going after Kagome. He threw a longing glance at the demon slayer sitting not more than four feet from him. She was lying on the ground, facing away from him, her face buried in the fur of her demon cat companion Kirara. An idea came into the monks head. He carefully placed his hand on her thigh, hoping that she was asleep. She wasn't. SMACK!

'Sango, please, when will you begin to return my affections for you?'

'When you stop groping me, you perverted monk.' Miroku sighed in response.

'It's the hand Sango, not me.' _No, it's your personality, _he imagined Sango thinking.

'No, it's your personality,' she said out loud. Miroku sighed again.

_I wish there was something around here to entertain me other than Inuyasha's pouting. He sulks much too often. If I was in his position, Kagome and I would be together, and she would have bore me many…_ He stopped his musings when a tingling feeling started in his hand; it was the hand with the curse that Naraku had placed upon his grandfather. The Wind Tunnel in his right hand was deadly if released. What if it was acting up? Slowly he removed the prayer beads covering the void to reveal that the wind tunnel was…gone.

Sango heard Miroku gasp, and turned to face him. 'Oh come on Miroku, I didn't hit you that hard.' Miroku still seemed to be in a dreamlike state. 'Miroku what's the matter?' She noticed that he cradled the hand with the Wind Tunnel. 'No! Is it the Wind Tunnel, Miroku? Is it trying to pull you in?'

'Sango…look.'

The demon slayer crept closer, not wanting to be sucked into the Wind Tunnel if it was trying to consume Miroku. She waited a few moments before going even closer, her eyes directly above his right palm. _There…there's nothing there!_

'It's gone! But how? That would mean that…' She trailed off. 'Inuyasha,' she began, 'you may want to take a look at this.'

'Feh, what is it? I'm still not going to look for Kagome, if that's what you're after.' He made his way across the campsite, followed by an intrigued Shippo. As the neared, Miroku opened the palm of his right "cursed" hand in their direction.

'Wah! Miroku are you trying to kill us?' Shippo whined as he cowered below the monk who stood, his right hand extended towards Shippo and Inuyasha.

'Huh? Miroku, what happened to your Wind Tunnel?' Inuyasha asked confused. Then realization hit him, and a bright look came into his eyes. 'Naraku…is dead!'

'It would appear so,' replied the monk, who was now feeling the spot on his hand where the Wind Tunnel had been with his index finger of his left hand.

The half dog demon changed his look from realization to confusion. 'But, who killed him?'

'It was…another dog demon.' The soft voice, definitely feminine, came from behind the group. They spun around to find Kagome looking at them.

'You! How can you show your face around here and act like nothing happened when you've been gone for at least six hours? What have you been doing? Where in the _hell _have you been girl?

'Sit…' There was a loud thud. 'As I was saying, the demon who killed Naraku was a dog demon, or he might have been a half demon. I met him shortly after he claims to have killed Naraku.'

'Kagome, you've been with another guy all day? How could you do that? Besides, how do you know that he wasn't an incarnation of Naraku? What proof did he give you?'

'Well for one, he had a shredded baboon mask,' she said ignoring the blatantly hostile accusations coming from Inuyasha. 'And secondly,' she opened her palm 'he gave me this.'

She held the large fragment of the Shikon jewel that the strange dog demon had given her.

'N-Naraku's jewel shard! Is it real Kagome?' he asked, and she nodded in response. 'Well, at least tell me what the demon looked like Kagome!'

'He looked…um….well…like you Inuyasha.'

'HUH?' the entire group with the exception of Kagome exclaimed.

A/N: Please give me a review. I am really enjoying writing this FanFic, so I would like to know if anyone is reading it. Thanks.


	3. Chapter 2: Family Reunion

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character from Inuyasha._

**Chapter 2: Family Reunion**

**The Next Day, Near Night**

'Inuyasha, we have been looking for the demon I met all day. I think it's obvious he's either gone or doesn't want us to find him.'

'Keh! Like I care Kagome, we are going to find this demon that looks "like me" if it takes all night. Besides, Naraku is dead, what else do we have left to do?' Inuyasha shot back. _Look for the few remaining jewel shards, of course. But this demon sounds interesting; I have never met another dog demon with ears like mine. And besides, the other two jewel shards are in Koga's legs, and he won't give them to me unless I kill him, and Kagome wouldn't think to kindly of that._

'Inuyasha,' Miroku began hesitantly, 'we give you our word that we will continue the search until we find this demon, but we are all tired. We must make camp now.'

'I agree,' said the demon slayer.

'Fine.' _Humans are so weak. What would they do without me around? I'm going to leave them for a minute one day and come back to find them all dead. _The thought of Kagome dead on the ground in front of him did not appeal to him, so he shoved the image from his mind.

After they had made camp, Shippo began to complain of being thirsty. Seeing as Kagome had run out of drinks from her bag, she asked Inuyasha where he smelled water. He pointed off into a general area in the forest, and watched her walk away with Shippo running alongside. _It will be okay; she will only be gone for a few minutes, and Naraku is dead. I should try to relax more once and a while. _Still, he was concerned. Anything could happen.

**In the Forest with Kagome and Shippo**

'Shippo go on ahead without me for a few minutes. I ran out of these herbs that reduce swelling,' she gestured to herbs at the base of a large tree, 'so I will need to restock.'

'Okay Kagome don't fall too far behind though,' the fox said over his shoulder as he was walking away. _Kagome might be in danger without my demon senses to help us. Inuyasha never appreciates the work I have to do for us._

Shippo continued to walk in the same direction. His "impressive" demon senses had failed to pick up the figure crouched in the trees above him. It stared at him with hungry eyes. _Damn it, I can't let more food slip through my grasp, or else I will be eating small rodents off the forest floor. That Naraku scared off all of the smaller demons and animals. Speaking of rodents and small animals, this pathetic fox child would hardly satisfy my hunger, but nonetheless, I need a meal._ He leapt to a tree farther down the path to keep up with his prey, a still oblivious Shippo.

'I wonder what's keeping Kagome. She hasn't caught up yet. Maybe I should turn and go…all right!...the river! I finally found it!' In front of him was a flowing clear river. He knelt down to the water's surface and began to drink his fill. Almost as soon as he lifted his head from the water's edge, he smelled a demon, and it smelled like dog.

'Inuyasha, I think I can handle getting a drink of water on my own! You didn't have to follow me!' He glared up to the spot where he smelled the dog demon. _That's weird, his smell is different today._ He continued looking until he found something; the cruelest pair of eyes he had ever seen. _Did Inuyasha turn into a full demon again? But then, wouldn't his eyes be red? No…it's the demon Kagome was talking about._ He turned to run and he saw Kagome, who had come to the clearing with the river. She was smiling gently at him, so she obviously did not see the other demon.

'Kagome! Run!' Shippo screamed. Inunobu took his chance with the child's distraction. He was too occupied with the prospect of finally getting a meal after days of not eating anything to notice the same girl he had given the jewel to. He released a loud growl from his mouth and pushed off of the branch he was crouching on, breaking it apart with the force of his legs. Before Kagome could think about what she had heard from the trees in front of her, she saw Shippo, whose neck was now in the claws of Inunobu. The dog demon's eyes were filled with excitement, and was about to begin the task of devouring the small fox child while it was still alive.

'SHIPPO!' Kagome screamed. Inunobu seemed surprised, and saw that the fox brought a companion. It was the same girl to whom he had given Naraku's treasure. _That girl. Why is she here again? And why is she trying to save this demon? _He followed her worried eyes to the now unconscious fox demon in his hand.

'Please! Don't hurt him!' she cried. _He's the same demon I met earlier. If he was this close the whole time, how was Inuyasha not able to smell him? _

Inunobu looked at her curiously. The human looked as if she loved the demon as a son. _I know too well that demons and humans can never exist together. My father made that mistake…twice._ _If she cares that much for him, then… I suppose I can spare him. He would have made a bad meal out of himself anyway._

Inunobu walked steadily towards Kagome. His grip on Shippo's neck had been released and he now supported the child with his arm. Kagome looked scared, yet determined, and held her ground. He came within the same range of Kagome as when he handed her the jewel. He held Shippo up by his tail, beckoning her to take the demon away. Instead of hesitating as she did before, she hurriedly grabbed the fox out of Inunobu's grip and cradled him softly.

Tears were streaming down her cheeks. 'Thank you.' He frowned in response as his eyes locked onto hers, sending a chill down her spine. _Damn it all I'm still hungry! I still haven't had a meal._

He turned to walk away and leave her to herself like he had done before.

_He spared Shippo. He can't be that bad. He must be alone out here. I bet he was just looking for food and Shippo was the first thing to cross his path._

'Wait. Don't leave. You were just looking for food right? I bet you are hungry if you're willing to eat something as small as Shippo. Follow me; I have food back at camp. You can have as much as you like. It's the least I can do to repay you for sparing Shippo and giving us the jewel shard.'

She had, by the time she was finished speaking, captured his full attention. He was curious, as well as angry. _I am hungry, but how dare this mortal think that she can help me? I need no aid from a human. But, I cannot deny my appetite, so I will go. _Inunobu slowly nodded. She smiled.

'HEY! What did you do to them?'

Inunobu looked up to find a monk and a demon slayer, along with a half breed dog. He recalled with disgust the memory of his infant brother Inuyasha sleeping. He could have ended the infant's life so easily; if only he was not bound to his word to his father's last wish. Whatever happened to Inuyasha, wherever he was, he hoped he was dead.

'Inuyasha, that appears to be the demon that Kagome was talking about,' Sango mentioned as she moved closer to the half demon clothed in red.

_Inuyasha? INUYASHA! This was the same half breed that caused his father to die. The only one in the world he had ever truly respected. Filthy half breed. Damn you. Damn you and all you kind! _His eyes filled with undeniable rage. Inuyasha was caught a bit off guard by this reaction.

'Aaaaaah!' Kagome screamed. While the group was preoccupied with Inunobu, and vice versa, a lesser demon had snuck up behind them, and was now about to impale Kagome and Shippo, who was still held in her arms, with a very sharp appendage. _If I don't kill that demon_ Inunobu thought to himself_ I will have no food. That girl, damn her! This is the third time I do something against my will in two days._ He cast a sidelong glance at the attacking demon before releasing his red energy whip from his fingertips. It crackled as it flew through the air and decapitated the demon, leaving Shippo and Kagome unharmed.

Inuyasha who had been watching the spectacle, decided to take advantage of the dog demon's distraction. _If I don't make sure he doesn't escape, I will never know who he is. Besides, Shippo has claw marks on his throat. I know this demon is responsible! I must make sure he can't move. I can't use Tetsusaiga because it's too big, and it would probably kill him. I need something smaller. _He looked quickly at Sango's katana. _That's it._ He grabbed the katana from Sango's sheath before she could object, and plunged it into the demon's chest, severing a major artery above his heart.

Inunobu felt a hot pain in his chest. He immediately began to feel heavy. He looked slowly down at the sword in his chest, then to his younger half-brother who had impaled him. _Damn it. I was careless…_ He sank to one knee, and Inuyasha removed the sword from its place in Inunobu's chest. Blood spilled freely from the wound and covered his white clothes in red. He allowed himself one last defiant growl, which turned into a gurgling noise as the blood rose in his throat. He fell straight into the dirt in front of him before completely losing consciousness.

'Miroku,' Inuyasha said in a flat voice to a shocked monk, 'I want you to seal him with your sutras so that he can't escape when he wakes up. Use the strongest ones you have.'

'R-Right, Inuyasha.' The monk was fazed by what Inuyasha had just done. _Inuyasha didn't even allow the demon to speak for himself. _

**Three Hours Later**

The group sat anxiously around the fire, waiting for the mysterious dog demon to awaken. His wound had not been dressed, because Inuyasha had ordered all of them not to touch him. Kagome looked worriedly towards the wound in Inunobu's chest, which looked extremely painful. Finally all of them drifted off to sleep, except Inuyasha.

'Wake up you stupid demon!' Inuyasha ordered as he stood right above Inunobu. As if responding to the command, Inunobu opened his eyes and let out a bloodcurdling roar of pain. _Damn, this demon is so savage._ _I wonder where he comes from. _Sparks of mini-lightning bolts shot from one sutra to another as Inunobu tried to move. The sutras looked almost like they were ready to break, but were holding. _Miroku, you actually did something right._

By this time the entire camp was awake and looking both curiously and fearfully at the howling dog demon who was being subdued by Miroku's sutra charms. Its eyes were no longer golden but were glowing red. It was clear Inuyasha had come very close to ending the demons life. He looked awful. To add to the ever growing sight, the wound in his chest reopened, and was oozing blood on the ground around him. Kagome, Sango, and Shippo gasped.

Inunobu gradually calmed down after about twenty minutes. He still growled at anyone who approached, but he was no longer yelling. It was a softer and more deadly noise. _How dare they do this to me? I have done nothing to them. I even spared their little fox friend! Inuyasha that damned half breed; I saved that girl and the child and he repays me with a sword in the chest. _He coughed, blood coming in small amounts from his mouth and staining the ground beside him. His vision was blurred. He could hear people talking, but not what they were talking about. Not that he needed to hear them to know they were speaking of him. His head lolled to one side and it was a few moments before his eyes would open again.

'Inuyasha, Kagome is right, we cannot get any information from that demon unless he is alive, and unless you let Kagome dress that wound in his chest,' Miroku stated.

'There is no _way _Kagome is going anywhere _near _that demon. He can rip her apart.'

'Inuyasha,' Kagome said angrily, 'he is bound by sutras, for starters, and not just one sutra but _four _of Miroku's best. Besides, he has had the chance to kill me twice and he didn't.'

'Fine Kagome, dress the wound, but if he even makes a move towards you I'm slicing off his head!'

Kagome walked towards Inunobu cautiously. He did not seem to be in a stable state of mind right now. She held out the bandages that she planned to use in front of his eyes, waiting until she was sure he saw them. He growled slightly, but rested his head on the ground and stopped glaring at Kagome. She proceeded to remove the portion of his clothes that covered his torso and cleaned the very gory wound. She then took bandages and wrapped them around the hole in Inunobu's chest, being very gentle so as not to make the wound reopen. His breathing was ragged and he seemed to be losing consciousness. She finished the job on the wound and placed a blanket from her backpack over him.

'Inuyasha,' she said as she walked back over to the group, 'he should recover, just give him time. You really hurt him you know, after he killed the demon trying to get Shippo and I. He didn't deserve that.'

'Kagome don't tell me you're going soft on that monster! He was going to _eat _Shippo! He is not a good demon.'

**Two and a Half Days Later **

Inunobu awoke slowly. _What happened to me?_ He glanced down at his chest after being unable to move and saw the bandages. _Inuyasha. _He glanced around the camp and saw that Inuyasha and the human girl were gone.

'So,' said a voice from behind his head, 'you've woken up. I'm sorry Inuyasha hurt you like that, but he just got so angry when he saw Shippo hurt.' Inunobu nodded. 'Please, if you would tell me your name, it would be easier for us. I'm Kagome.' She gestured over to the demon slayer, the monk, and the demon cat across the camp. 'The monk's name is Miroku, the demon slayer's is Sango, and that cat demon is named Kirara. Who are you?'

'Inunobu…' He spoke his own name and it sounded strange to him. It had been a very long time since he last spoke to a human.

_Well at least we're getting somewhere. See, Inuyasha, talking works much better than fighting._ 'Are you from around these parts? We have never seen you before. Where do you come from?'

'The Western Lands.'

Kagome looked at him with a growing curiosity. _He was from the Western Lands? He did look a little like Sesshomaru, and that energy whip was similar as well. _She was interrupted from her thought as he spoke again.

'If you are able, remove these sutras, I cannot move and the position I am in is very painful to my wound. I give you my word I will not harm you.'

Kagome now looked a bit cautious. If she removed the sutras, he would be free to move. Maybe he was just making all of this up to get back at the group for wounding him. Still, it did not seem like he was lying, and she had never gotten as much as a word from their in previous encounters.

'Kagome, I can sense that he is telling the truth,' Miroku announced as he approached them, 'I will remove the sutras.'

The monk walked steadily towards Inunobu. He knelt beside him and removed the four sutras covering each limb. Inunobu rose shakily to a sitting position, receiving no help because they were still unsure of his motives. He attempted to rise, but fell back down onto one knee, and he gave up and sat against a tree that was close by. He closed his eyes.

'Um…Inunobu? I promised that you could have some food remember? It has been almost three more days since you tried to…eat…Shippo. You must be hungry.' Kagome waited for him to nod before making her way over to the bag where she kept her snacks that she brought with her from the well. She figured Inuyasha would not approve of Kagome giving the Ramen away to Inunobu, so she settled on some potato chips and some rice balls wrapped in cellophane. She handed the food to the dog demon and waited until he had eaten to speak again.

'Why did you give me the jewel?'

'You asked for it, and I had no need for it.'

'Please forgive Inuyasha for hurting you; he doesn't know any other way.' She noticed he ignored the last request. _Inuyasha sure doesn't get along with other dog demons that well at all._

Inunobu was still a little weak after another four hours of rest, but the pain had subsided and he was now preoccupied with the figure approaching in the distance. It was a certain half demon who wore all red clothes. He was running at full speed towards camp. _Pitiful. He has no speed at all._

'What in the hell is this demon doing without his sutras? Are you guys stupid? He could rip you apart!'

'I gave them my word I would not harm them, Inuyasha.' Inuyasha looked amazed that this demon knew his name and shocked at the voice that came out of him. It had the same attitude as Sesshomaru's voice.

'I wasn't asking you demon!' Inuyasha yelled angrily.

'Inuyasha calm down. His name is Inunobu and he comes from the Western Lands,' Kagome said.

'The Western Lands? Do you know Sesshomaru?' Inunobu nodded.

**At the Place of Naraku's Death**

'My Lord it is Naraku; he is dead! Who could have done this?' asked a small green imp.

A tall figure emerged from the edge of the tree line. He was followed by a young human girl and a small two headed serpent. The figure took in the scene of destruction that lay before him. Naraku was on the ground in many pieces. Seeing as his body had not reformed, it must mean that he was in fact, dead. He took in the scent of the battlefield. His eyes widened in surprise. After at least 150 years, he had found a trace.

'Inunobu,' Sesshomaru said.

'What did you say my Lord? Who is that?' Jaken had heard the name mentioned once before, when he had returned with his master Sesshomaru to the Western Lands. But he could not remember the context in which he had heard it.

'He is my other half-brother, Jaken, and we will meet him soon.' He turned to leave when Naraku's flesh started to twitch in one place. Naraku's left arm began pulsing with an odd energy. Sesshomaru walked over to it and examined it. _Is the annoying vermin still alive? No, I do not sense any life in him. Why then is his arm pulsing? _As Sesshomaru came to a stop a foot from the left arm, it glowed. It was then that Sesshomaru recognized what it was. _My uncle's left arm. I had heard he was slain by Naraku, and it seems the rumors were correct. Interesting, I think I will take this arm for myself. _With that thought he knelt down and grabbed the arm and pressed it to the stump attached to his left shoulder. Immediately the arm attached itself to his body. Because he was related to the demon who used the arm, it was not deteriorating. _Why did I not think of this sooner?_

'We're going. Rin,' a young girl looked up at him, 'sit on Ah and Un, Jaken will take the reigns.' Jaken looked most disappointed

'Yes my Lord,' they both said, one enthusiastically and one half-heartedly.

**Night Time On the Path to Kaede's Village, Days After Inunobu Awakened**

Inunobu's wound had disappeared completely. As soon as it had healed he had removed himself from the company of those odd people. However, though he was not with them, he was following them. He did not know why, but he guessed that it was because his half-brother traveled with them. He may be a filthy half breed but he was the only one that Inunobu could perhaps speak with about Inu no Taisho. Sesshomaru was not one to talk to, and this half demon, once his defensive personality was calmed, could be very talkative at times. Of course, Inunobu had only seen him talk to the raven haired girl Kagome. He was too far away from the group to hear everything. From what he did catch with his ears, he determined that the girl was going home, wherever that was, and that she kept shouting the word "sit" at Inuyasha. _That girl is so different; I imagine her home must be odd as well._

Kagome walked through the trees of the forest to a large clearing, still fuming about Inuyasha insisting that she stay in the Feudal Era with him at all times. _That Inuyasha, he can be so infuriating sometimes!_ Inuyasha was keeping his distance behind her, and the rest of the group was with him.

'Kagome, if you're not back in three days I'm going to drag you back here. Do you hear me? Three days is what you get and not one damn day more!'

'Yeah, yeah.' Kagome sighed as she stepped further into the clearing and into Inunobu's sight. She was heading for what looked to be an old dry well. _This girl lives in a well? What is she doing?_ The group was far enough away for Inunobu to be less careful with his movements. Kagome looked up suddenly as she heard a rustle in the trees. _Kagome could not have heard me, her human ears are too weak. But she's not looking at me, she looking below me._ He gazed beneath his perch to see a very anxious weasel demon running at Kagome. Inunobu sighed. _The girl did dress my wound, the least I can do is save her this once. _Inunobu shoved the idea that he had already saved her life once, and that it was her who should be repaying him. _So much for going unnoticed…_

'Give me the shards of the jewel, I must have them!' the weasel demon squealed as he ran forward. Kagome looked taken aback, since she had not seen the demon a moment ago. She reached for her bow and let loose an arrow. The demon dodged to the side and continued his assault. Kagome began to think that this was the end of her, until she caught sight of a flash of claws. _Inuyasha?_ She looked above her in the trees to where the person had gone, and saw a face she had not seen for at least a week.

'Inunobu! Thanks for saving me…again.' She smiled sheepishly at the dog demon who was less that pleased that this mortal now knew he was following them. _Inunobu followed us of his own free will. I can wait at least a little while to go home. Maybe his appearance means he will tell us more about himself. _'Why don't you come back to the camp with me Inunobu? You can tell us whatever you want to tell us there.' The dog demon merely frowned and dropped from the tree to follow her.

**Camp**

'Kagome, I thought you were going home!' Inuyasha rose from his seated position. _She looks happy…is that bad? _

'Inuyasha I found someone in the forest. I think he wants to say something to us.' Kagome pointed to a now-emerging Inunobu. He eyed Inuyasha warily, and Inuyasha did the same.

'Kagome, why did you bring him back here?' Inuyasha asked, sounding concerned. Kagome was touched by the tenderness of his voice when he spoke to her. 'What if we were wrong about him and he attacked you? I wasn't close enough to get to you if you got into trouble.'

'Inuyasha, I appreciate your concern, but he saved my life…again.'

Inuyasha looked in bewilderment at Kagome first and then at Inunobu. _Thank you. Maybe I misjudged him; maybe we just caught him at a bad time when we last met. _There was a silence among the group for a few minutes. Then, surprisingly, it was Inunobu who spoke.

'Inuyasha, I must tell you something before I go. You and I share the same father.'

'What?' the entire group responded.

'Inu no Taisho bore a son to a mortal woman 400 years before you. Inuyasha. I am that son.'

'I am sorry to interrupt,' said a confused Miroku, 'but how could your mother have been a human if you are a full demon? I do not understand.'

'I am getting there monk. As I was saying, our father produced a child before you. The mother was killed by her father, who did not approve of the relationship she shared with a demon. My father used some sort of magic to transform that son into a full fledged demon. Neither he, nor Sesshomaru told me how this was done. It made the child more like an animal than a demon, and he retained his half demon features,' he gestured to the dog ears on his head. 'I was not of any desire to know how this was done, knowing I would most likely despise the answer, but I must confess that I am now curious. I thought that perhaps you would know how a half demon may become a full demon.' _That was simpler than I thought it would be. It is useless for me to harbor a grudge against Inuyasha; father's choices were his own. Inuyasha was a mere infant, not even aware of his own surroundings. If anyone is to blame it is that damned human mother Izayoi, but she is long dead._

'If you wish to know the answer,' said a cold voice, 'then I will tell you. The Shikon No Tama made you a full fledged demon. It is the very same jewel that the girl wears around her neck. Now that your conversation is ended, I do believe I have business to finish with you, little brother.'


	4. Chapter 3: Family Reunion Part Two

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Inuyasha._

**Chapter 3**

**Family Reunion: Part Two**

Both Inuyasha and Inunobu looked up at the voice that had spoken to them. Since they were both technically little brothers to him, he could have been talking to either of them. Inunobu knew better though.

'Sesshomaru!' said Inuyasha, angry with his older brother for not ever mentioning that he had another brother. 'What are you doing here?'

'Silence, Inuyasha, my business lies with our brother Inunobu. He seems to forget that he has a duty to carry out as prince of the Western Lands. I am here to bring him back. If he refuses, then I have no use for him, and I will slay him. Well, Inunobu, what do you say? Will you return when your Lord asks you to?

Inunobu glared at Sesshomaru. _How can he treat me as an inferior? I am no half breed! If it is a fight that will solve this matter, then so be it. _He cracked his knuckles. Sesshomaru's lips curved into a tiny arrogant smile. Meanwhile Inuyasha looked confused. He was sure something was being communicated between the two demons, but he was not sure what. Inunobu answered his question by making the first move.

_You will not bring me back to that prison so easily Sesshomaru. _Inunobu unleashed his light whip at Sesshomaru, and Sesshomaru responded by blocking it with his own. Sesshomaru coolly stared down his opponent as he drew Tokijin.

'So, your response is no. Very well, then you may die!' Sesshomaru's sword flashed in the air for a split second before giving off a wave of destructive blue energy. Inunobu smiled evilly as he jumped over the wave and lunged in midair at Sesshomaru, poison glowing on his claws. He slashed at Sesshomaru's chest, which the demon lord easily dodged. _Sesshomaru's gotten even faster, this could be a problem._ Sesshomaru gracefully moved behind him and tried to impale him. Inunobu ducked, pivoted with his hands on the ground, and delivered a swift kick to Sesshomaru's abdomen.

'Incredible!' Miroku commented. 'They are both powerful indeed. Inunobu is at a large disadvantage fighting unarmed though.'

A beastlike growl was heard above Miroku's talking, and attention was redirected to the battle. Inunobu stabbed with his claws at Sesshomaru's face, and the older demon dodged backwards, doing a reverse somersault, a move that would have been impossible without his recently acquired left arm. While upside down on one hand he slashed Tokijin and caught Inunobu across the thigh, drawing blood. Both demons jumped back for a break.

'Sesshomaru, where'd you get the other arm? Don't tell me I have to cut another one off,' taunted Inuyasha from the sidelines. Sesshomaru looked extremely annoyed at this comment.

'Are you telling me that a mere half breed took one of your arms, brother? I thought you were better than that.' Inunobu joined in the taunting of his opponent, but wondered how Inuyasha succeeded in removing the first arm.

'Silence. You are both half breeds to me.'

Inunobu's gaze hardened as he attacked again. Sesshomaru was an extremely skilled swordsman, far beyond what Inunobu had seen 200 years ago. He blocked every strike, whether it was from a claw or from the light whip. Inunobu decided to test this swordsmanship. He jumped off the ground and began to spin, letting loose a light whip from each hand and allowing them to swirl around him like ribbons of glowing red. This spinning attack hit Sesshomaru once, drawing blood at the base of his neck. All of the other attacks were blocked. _Damn it, how can I win this without a sword of my own?_

_Inunobu's movements are reasonably fluid, and there are no openings, but there must be something. _Sesshomaru watched Inunobu twirl with the whips attacking from every direction. _There! _He saw an opening between the light whips, and he brought his left hand into a fist and smashed it into Inunobu's face, sending him sprawling along the ground. Sesshomaru took full advantage of this. He held Tokijin horizontal to the ground and parallel to his body.

'Dragon Strike!'

Inunobu looked up to see enormous streaks of lightning radiating from Sesshomaru's sword. The ground splintered into thousands of pieces as the lightning merged into one bolt, and headed in Inunobu's direction. The lightning shaped itself further into a giant dragon head followed by a very long slim body. Inunobu had a mere split second to react. _Damn, what in the hell is that? I can't stop it…the only thing I can do is minimize the damage it does to me. I will jump right through that lightning dragon's mouth._

Sesshomaru looked on through the destruction his own attack caused. There was a chance that Inunobu was still alive, but a very small chance that he was able to still fight. _Fool, he may have gotten stronger than he was when I last saw him, but he had no where near the power to attack Tokijin without a weapon of his own, much less when I, Sesshomaru, am his opponent. _He looked through the chaos to see, much to his surprise, a very singed looking dog demon emerge from the lightning storm. He was too close to block Inunobu completely. Sesshomaru blocked one of his clawed hands with Tokijin, and the other slashed through his armor and clothes, and proceeded to wound his chest. _The wound is not that serious, and I believe he was injured more than I, _Sesshomaru thought. His assumptions were correct.

Inunobu stood poised for another attack after he had hit Sesshomaru with his claws. _Damn, I'm not going to last much longer. I can barely keep my eyes open. _He decided to take advantage of Sesshomaru's recovery time and escape. _I cannot go back to the Western Lands, I won't._ He used his whip one last time to make a good-sized cloud of dust then turned and leapt. He landed on the ground at least 60 feet away before he felt something burn across his ankle. He looked down, and to his dismay, found Sesshomaru's green light whip wrapped around it, emerging from the dust cloud. _Sesshomaru has such an excellent sense of smell. _He felt himself be pulled backwards.

Inuyasha, Kagome, Shippo, Sango, and Miroku looked in awe at the destruction the demon conflict had produced. They had a view of both sides of the dust cloud created by Inunobu. On one side they saw Sesshomaru, hand extended with a green whip connected Inunobu's leg, on the other side. Sesshomaru made a flipping motion with his wrist and it caused Inunobu to be flown backwards.

_Inunobu, I do not wish to kill you, yet. If you have truly found a place among these ingrate humans and that half breed, then you may live. I will not allow, however, one of my father's sons to become a wanderer, savagely eating any hapless creature that passes its way._ _You will be punished._ Sesshomaru waited for Inunobu to get close enough, and impaled him through torso, deliberately missing all vital organs. Inunobu's body lurched; he was positioned in a very shaky standing position in front of Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru looked into the eyes of one of his younger brothers, which were starting to glaze over. Black hung on the edges of Inunobu's blurred vision. Inunobu allowed himself one last gasp of a breath before slumping against Sesshomaru's shoulder, then falling to the ground. Tokijin slid out of Inunobu's body slowly as he fell. The demon was clearly unconscious from Sesshomaru's perspective, and it looked to Inuyasha as though he was dead.

Sesshomaru spoke, 'You,' addressing Kagome, Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, and Shippo, 'does my brother have a place amongst you? I will not allow him to be a savage wanderer, it tarnishes the family name. If he indeed travels with you, I will spare his life. If he was merely passing by and your meeting was coincidence…he will die.'

'Inunobu is traveling with us now. He is not savage Sesshomaru. If you had taken the time to get to know your own brother you would know that.' Kagome defended.

Inuyasha cast a questioning glance at Kagome. He did not like the prospect of this demon staying near them, but Inunobu most likely new as much about their father as Sesshomaru, and he would be willing to talk about Inu no Taisho. _Fine, he can stay, but I reserve the right to kill him._ Miroku and Sango gave similar glances, and Shippo's was one of fear. He did not want to be thought of as food ever again.

'Very well, I shall take my leave,' said the Lord of the Western Lands casually.

**One Week After the Battle**

Inunobu opened his eyes very slowly. His head felt awful, and his body felt even worse. He took in his surroundings. He was sitting beside a burned out campfire, and he estimated it to be about midmorning. He noticed that he had no clothes to cover his upper body. _The must have been drenched in blood. _He winced as he recalled the beating he had suffered at Sesshomaru's hands. It was no wonder their father chose him to be the next Lord of the Western Lands. His limbs felt like dead weights. For the first time he noticed Miroku and Sango talking to each other. They were facing Inunobu, while Kagome, Inuyasha, and Shippo faced away. Sango rose and started rummaging through Kagome's large yellow bag. _How does a girl of her size carry something like that? _Inunobu thought about what could be in the bag until he was interrupted by a voice,

'Oh, so you're conscious,' Sango practically whispered to the injured demon. She was worried he might become agitated in the company of so many new people. 'You've been out for about a week. You should try to be more careful when you go into battle.' Her voice was warm. _Why does she treat me like I am one of the group? This must be Kagome's doing. _Inunobu made a move to get up.

'No. You must not move yet, your injuries are very serious.' She placed one hand on his chest to stop him from rising. He made an effort to speak, but found that he lacked the energy. The most he could do was stare at her. 'I will tell the others you are awake, and don't worry about Inuyasha, Kagome threatened him and he agreed not to question you about anything until you are good and ready.'

Inunobu gave her a questioning look. _Threaten him? What could Kagome do to Inuyasha? _The thought of a young woman holding power over a 200 year old half demon was amusing. He would have to see this for himself.

Soon the entire group was aware of his awakening. They stood their distance but watched him intently. He noticed that nothing held him to the ground this time. _No sutras. These humans cannot possibly trust me. What have I done to earn it?_ He waited a while before he felt like he had the strength to speak.

'Where is…Sesshomaru?' he asked very softly.

'Gone. He left after he stabbed you.' Kagome replied.

Sesshomaru was not easily sidetracked from his goal unless he found something that suited all of his needs, and such a thing was rare. It is not possible for the group to have fought him off. They only faced him with one arm, he imagined, in their previous encounters with the Lord. With that sword, he was damn near invincible.

'How?' was Inunobu's next question.

'How did we get Sesshomaru to leave?' she asked. He nodded. 'Well, the only thing he wanted was to make sure that you had some attachment or claim somewhere, and that you were not ruining your fathers name by acting like a savage beast.' _That sounded to me like I was accusing him. I wonder if it came across that way._

'You mean like trying to eat wandering fox children?'

_Yep, definitely came across that way. _She wondered if he understood exactly what she had just said. Sesshomaru meant that, if he ever saw Inunobu alone in the forest, jumping from tree to tree looking for meals, Sesshomaru would kill him. _I would think that Sesshomaru would want to preserve what was left of his family, especially Inunobu, who was a full demon._

'Attachment? Does that mean…I must stay here with you people?' _I do not fear Sesshomaru, in fact, without that sword there is not guarantee he would have won. That was one hell of an attack._

'And what is so bad about staying with people who are willing to patch you up when you're injured, Inunobu?' Miroku questioned. Inunobu smirked. _This human addresses me so casually, and under any other circumstance, I would rip him to pieces._ A rush of pain burned through his body as he adjusted his position to what he believed would be a more comfortable seating arrangement. The pain seized him and he toppled over and slumped on the ground. For a few minutes, no one moved.

'What are you people doing? Can't you see he needs help to get up?' was all Inunobu heard as a pair of arms hoisted him back up into a seating position. 'Sango,' Inuyasha said, 'you are the closest so come here and hold him upright till he comes to all the way!' Sango obeyed slowly. She sat directly behind Inunobu and steadied his shoulders. Miroku, who was now seated, took full advantage of the situation, and began to softly caress Sango's backside. Her face became redder and angrier by the second. She was both blushing very deeply and getting very angry.

'Miroku…this isn't the time or the place. We are trying to make Inunobu feel comfortable here. He no doubt feels very insecure being so weak in our presence. We do not want him to think us odd!'

'Oh, don't worry about that, you were strange the second I saw all of you,' said an amused looking Inunobu to Sango. The rest of the people standing around them looked amazed that Inunobu was even capable of a sense of humor, let alone be able to make a joke. A very tired Inunobu started to speak again.

'Sango, thank you, but I am fine.' With that said Sango grabbed her giant boomerang the hiraikotsu, and proceeded to chase an already fleeing Miroku around the camp. Before he lapsed into unconsciousness again, Inunobu asked one last question.

'Where…did Sesshomaru get that sword?'

'The Tokijin,' this time it was Inuyasha who spoke up, 'came from the fangs of a demon that broke my Tetsusaiga, it was recent, within the last year.'

_Tetsusaiga? The Tetsusaiga? The blade that can kill one hundred enemies with one sweep of its blade is here? _For the first time he noticed that the sword strapped to Inuyasha's waist was indeed the Tetsusaiga. _No wonder Sesshomaru hated Inuyasha; he had been after that sword ever since he learned of what it was capable of. Well, that and the Sounga. _He had already noticed that Sesshomaru wore Tenseiga.

'What happened to the Sounga?'

'I,' Inuyasha proclaimed triumphantly, 'banished it to hell…with a little help from Sesshomaru.' Inunobu laughed a little at first before allowing himself to be engulfed in a much needed sleep.

**The Next Day**

'Inuyasha,' Kagome whispered to the half demon as they stood over Inunobu's sleeping figure, 'do you think Inunobu will be able to move around much when he wakes up?'

'How the hell should I know? Just because he's my brother doesn't mean I know him. I mean, I didn't even know he existed until just recently!'

'Well, you are half dog demon; don't you know how fast you heal?' Kagome responded,

'Yeah well I've never been hit with that attack without anything to protect me from it. At least Tetsusaiga's sheath would have helped me. I wouldn't have jumped right into the damn thing.' Inuyasha began to think for a moment. _Maybe Inunobu could have won if he had the Tokijin. The fact that the Dragon Strike from Sesshomaru had not completely incinerated him is amazing as it is._

'Inuyasha,' whined a tiny fox demon on his shoulder, 'maybe if you had tried to stop the fight instead of standing there like an idiot, then we wouldn't be in this mess!'

'Shut up runt.' Inuyasha knocked Shippo off his shoulder, and to the fox's dismay, he landed right on top of the resting Inunobu's chest. Out of reflex, Inunobu's hand shot out and grabbed Shippo's tail. Shippo screamed loudly, awakening the demon. Inunobu immediately released his grip when he realized what he had done.

'AAAAH, D-DON'T EAT M-ME!' Shippo scrambled across the camp and scurried up a nearby tree. Inunobu opened his eyes, noticing that the pain from before was now a very tiresome ache. He clutched at his throbbing, but not bleeding, chest to brace himself as he stood up. That turned out to be a mistake, as he was still very lightheaded. He stumbled and forcefully leaned back against a tree to stop himself from falling over. When the people around him saw what was happening, they surrounded him and attempted to hold him up, with the exception of Inuyasha and a still petrified Shippo.

_These mortals continue to help me as though I am a pathetic child. I will not stay with them and I will fight Sesshomaru if I have to. _'Get away from me!' Inunobu snarled. Sango, Miroku, and Kagome stopped, and gave helpless glances to the struggling dog demon. They were frozen in poses that seemed half decided to help Inunobu, and half afraid of being attacked.

'I don't need any help from you. Can't you see I am fine?' he spat, then let out a small cough. As if to warn them further, he lifted the hand from its resting position on the top of his bandages and let his claws glow green with poison.

'Inunobu! You are staying with us for a while and you better get used to it. I vouched for you when Sesshomaru was going to kill you. Just shut up and sit down. If you want to leave after you have recovered then be my guest.' Kagome spoke in a very serious tone. _He's just as stubborn as Inuyasha and Sesshomaru. It must be a genetic thing. I can't even begin to imagine what his father was like._

Inunobu lowered his glowing claws in defeat. _Damn it Kagome, what the hell is wrong with you. I have done nothing but cause trouble. I should have just made a meal of her that day I gave her the jewel. If I had known she would be such a pain…but…could I really possibly be accepted here? I cannot deny that I am alone but is my fate to be thrown in the company of humans?_ He resolved to think more later. He did not want to ruin his chance of being able to stay, if it turned out that he wanted to. He shakily made his way over to the roasting meat on the fire, this time not denying the help offered by the humans.

**A Few Days Later**

Inuyasha and friends walked steadily towards Kaede's village…again. Kagome had an important test she needed to return for. Inuyasha stood at the head of the group, sulking as usual because Kagome needed to leave again. Kagome walked with a bright pink bicycle; a bored looking Shippo in the front basket. Miroku and Sango walked near each other, much to Miroku's delight. Last, trailing at least thirty feet behind the companions was a silent Inunobu. His arms were crossed on his chest, and he stared off into nothingness, wondering how it was that he was still staying with these people. His wound had healed, but he still remained as a member of the traveling party. Kagome, Sango, and Miroku were on good terms with the demon, although they did not carry out many conversations. Inuyasha glared at Inunobu a lot, and Shippo was still afraid of being eaten to go anywhere near Inunobu. These had been the travel arrangements for at least two days. Inunobu did not know where they were going; he imagined it was wherever Kagome lived, since she said that she needed to go home. He had dismissed the idea of Kagome living in a well.

They neared the Bone Eater's Well, but Inunobu had no idea that the well was the destination. He was still thinking. _I don't remember Sesshomaru ever being that strong. Whenever he fought a couple hundred years ago, he would always win by staying one step ahead of his opponent. Not that he wasn't strong then either. But that Dragon Strike…damn…I have to find a way around that. Perhaps if I had a sword of my own…_

'Alright, I'll see you guys later. I will be back in a couple of days. Well bye…Inuyasha what are you doing?' Kagome stopped mid sentence when she noticed Inuyasha getting ready to jump in the well with her.

'Kagome don't tell me you've forgotten something that important! I'm going to grab another box of Ramen to bring it back! If your memory is that bad it's no wonder you complain about how badly you do on these tests.'

'Why you…you…I'll…SIT!' Inuyasha crashed into the ground face first.

Inunobu stared wide eyed at the subdued half demon. _How did Kagome do that? Was she a sorceress or something? If she possessed some kind of magic then she could probably do the same thing to me. _Kagome, meanwhile, had noticed the expression on Inunobu's face.

'Oh, sorry, I guess you've never seen this before Inunobu. You see those beads around Inuyasha's neck? They are called-'

'Nenju beads of subjugation,' Inunobu interrupted. 'Inuyasha, how could you possibly allow yourself to become ensnared in a human trap like this?'

'Ah shut up bastard, it's not like I wanted these!'

Kagome sighed. 'Ok well come on Inuyasha lets go.' They dropped into the well and out of sight. At this point, a very confused looking Inunobu rushed to the side of the well to see if they had survived the fall without injuring themselves.

'What…what happened to them? Where have they gone?' Inunobu demanded.

It was Miroku who spoke up. 'Kagome lives on the other side of this well. Inside it is a magical portal that transports her into her home era, 500 years in the future from this day. Strangely Inuyasha and Kagome are the only ones who can pass through the gateway.' He explained all of this to a still very confused demon. He thought the matter over in his head on the walk to Kaede's hut.

As they remaining members of the group walked into town, the villagers pointed and stared at Inunobu. He was becoming very angry, and he turned his back to the village. Kaede walked out of her hut to greet them. She approached Miroku, Sango, Shippo, Kirara, and a figure whom she assumed to be Inuyasha.

'The village welcomes all of ye back. I hope ye have fared well in thy travels. Inuyasha,' she asked the figure, 'why has ye changed ye clothes to white? I believed that the Red Robe of the Fire Rat was like armor to ye. Inuyasha? Why do ye ignore me?' Inunobu, who was now listening, realized that the woman was talking to him. By her voice, he could tell she was very old, that and her scent. He turned around to find a short, plump, old priestess, with an eye patch covering her right eye.

'Are you speaking to me, priestess?' Inunobu asked in a very cold, unfeeling voice. He deliberately locked eyes with the priestess and sent her a very cold and calculating stare. Kaede became very alarmed.

'Who are ye? Where is Inuyasha?'

'Lady Kaede,' Miroku began, 'this is Inunobu, he is Inuyasha's other half brother. Kagome and Inuyasha went back through the well. Inuyasha will be back in a few minutes and Kagome in a few days.'

'I see,' Kaede stated, still eyeing the new demon carefully. She thought to herself. _I will keep a close watch on this demon, he does not seem right._

**In Kaede's Hut**

'So, ye are a full demon born of the Shikon no Tama. My sister was also a priestess, and she guarded the jewel until her death. As you are probably aware, Inuyasha hunts for the Shikon Shards and for the demon Naraku. Fifty years ago Naraku pitted Inuyasha and my sister Kikyo against each other and it resulted in Kikyo's death. Inuyasha was sealed to the Goshinboku. Naraku is a wicked demon indeed,' Kaede finished.

'Naraku _was_ a wicked demon Lady Kaede.' Miroku revealed his right hand and she gasped when she saw it had no Wind Tunnel. 'Inunobu killed him, and Kagome has Naraku's shards.'

'That is indeed wonderful news. Ye must allow the village to throw a celebration.'

'I have one question,' everyone turned to look at Inunobu as he spoke, 'what is it that allows Kagome to go through that well?'

'Kagome is the reincarnation of my sister Kikyo, and thus the Sacred Jewel was reborn in her. As long as she has the jewel she may travel back and forth between realms. Why do ye ask?'

'No reason.' _I must be able to go through that well. When my father used the Shikon no Tama on me, its power was transferred to my body. If it is indeed the jewels power that the well draws on, I should be able to pass._ 'I will return in a moment.' Inunobu stood up and walked out of the hut. Once he was far enough so that the people in Kaede's hut could not see him he stopped. _At least there is one use for this ridiculous ability I possess. I will need it to pass through the well unsuspected._ Light began to surround Inunobu in an orb-shaped ball. He emerged from the ball of light, and rushed off into the trees to find the well. _I will have to wait for Inuyasha to return, he would never allow me to pass into that gateway without a fight. But it is no matter; the offer is too enticing; seeing the world 500 years in the future, _he thought as he ran, gathering speed. He realized the running was making him thirsty so he diverted his course to where he smelled fresh water. He emerged into the part of the forest that housed the river, and froze.

Sango the demon slayer filled up the strange see-through containers that Kagome had brought back some days earlier. They were very lightweight and convenient. _I think Kagome called them water bottles. Her era must be so interesting._ She looked up and dropped the bottle. Before her stood a vicious looking dog, the same size as any typical wild dog. The canine's eyes were a liquid golden color, and almost seemed to give off a light of their own. The dog carefully and silently approached the water's edge, eyeing Sango dangerously. He lowered his mouth to the river and drank slowly. As soon as he was done he ran back into the forest in a blur of speed.

_I am almost at the well. I can see Inuyasha walking back to the place where I left Miroku and the others. He can't pick up my scent when I am downwind. _As soon as Inuyasha vanished from sight Inunobu leapt to the well's edge. He waited a moment before jumping in, sure that the well would take him. He grinned inwardly to himself when a purple light engulfed him.

A/N: Another chapter completed. I have a ton of time to kill at home so I will try and update daily. I plan on making all chapters as long as they have been so far if not longer. Thanks for reading.


	5. Chapter 4: Discovery

_Disclaimer: I do not own any character from Inuyasha._

**Chapter 4: Discovery **

**In Kagome's House**

_I have to really study for this test. This geometry is going to kill me one day; I don't think I can ever understand it._ Kagome was writing furiously on a piece of paper on her desk in her room. She was determined to get as much done as possible before Inuyasha bothered her again. _Finally, no more distractions._ There was a knock at her door. She sighed. She looked up as her mother walked into the room carrying a bowl of hot miso soup and a soda. Kagome's expression instantly brightened.

'Here you go dear,' Mrs. Higurashi said warmly.

'Yum, thanks mom!' She began to drink the soup and returned to her studies.

**The Well House**

Inunobu sniffed the air, and coughed. _The air is so filthy, how can anyone manage to live in this? _He made a clean jump out of the well and slid past the sliding doors. He found himself in a courtyard. Straight ahead of him was the Goshinboku. _That is the very same tree we passed earlier today. I am amazed it survived another 500 years._ He walked silently through the shrine grounds until he stood beneath a wooden house. He noticed the front doors, and decided that they were probably not the best choice, as they would attract attention. Then he noticed a window, and he could see Kagome sitting at her desk. There was a tree that led up almost to the window sill. _Perfect._ Kagome seemed bored and looked out her window.

Kagome inhaled heavily, a chill running through her as she focused on what looked to be a stray dog, a large dog. The dog was not ordinary however, because a golden light emanated from its eyes. The dog was three quarters in the shadows, and it was night time, so the only thing that Kagome could see was a hazy outline and the eyes. The dog was sitting on its haunches looking right at her. She ran downstairs.

'Mom! Souta! Grandpa! Don't go outside there is a wild dog out there,' she pleaded with them.

'Really Kagome?' her younger brother Souta asked, 'what does it look like?'

'Well, it's kind of hard to explain…It's white, almost silver. Just don't go outside, ok?'

'Yes Kagome, thank you for the warning,' her mother added.

Her grandpa was currently looking through a small opening he had created between the two sliding panels of the front door. He was surveying the shrine yard carefully. He saw no dog.

'Kagome I can't see a dog out there, are you sure you weren't imagining it?' her grandpa said.

'Yes I am sure; just keep an eye out for it.'

Kagome headed back upstairs to her room. She went to her window in hopes of seeing another glimpse of the animal. She was about to turn away when something caught her eye. She looked at the tree that was near her window, and saw them. The same pair of gold eyes staring right at her, the shadows of the branches now covered the dog's entire body in darkness. She screamed and shut the curtain to the window. Her heart raced wildly. _How did it get in that tree, and why does it keep looking at me? What should I do? I have to warn my family again, before they get hurt. _She opened the curtains for one last look to make sure it was still there, and she saw nothing. She heard her mother scream and the sound of dishes crashing to the floor. _No!_ She rushed to her door and opened it, to find the dog standing right in front of her.

'AAAAH!' She screamed and tried to shut the door but the dog was too fast and it bolted through the opening. Kagome, registering what had happened, waited for the attack. She heard her family trying to get upstairs to her, but it would be too late. Nothing happened. She turned to face the dog, which was now sitting in a crouching position.

'Go away! Leave me alone!' she said terrified. The dog cocked its head to the right just a little ways. She thought _haven't I seen that before? Where?_ To her increasing surprise the dog surrounded itself in light. Legs became humanoid limbs, and the torso increased as the dog stood on two paws, now rapidly transforming into feet. Kagome's fear was replaced with curiosity, then amazement as she beheld Inunobu standing in front of her, facing off to her left. She walked around him to make sure it was Inunobu, and now she stood further from the door of her room than he did. The door opened.

'Kagome!' it was Souta, 'are you alright? Inuyasha? Did you see or smell a stray dog around here? And how come your clothes are white?

'For the last time, I am not Inuyasha.' Inunobu turned and faced Souta. Souta jumped backwards into the open door frame and then slumped onto the carpet, not moving, staring at the new demon.'

'I should have known a demon was at work here!' yelled Grandpa as he saw Inunobu. Inunobu merely stared back at the surprised Souta, the angered Grandpa, and the worried Mrs. Higurashi. Grandpa hurled sutras from his robe and they struck Inunobu in the chest, and did absolutely nothing, as usual.

'Pathetic excuse for a sutra, old man.'

'Insolent beast!'

_Oh, a beast am I? How dare you human? HOW DARE YOU! If it's a beast you want, then a beast you will get. _He allowed his eyes to change from golden to bright red and snarled at the old man. All of the people in the room, even Kagome, were shocked. Souta had near fainted from fear, Mrs. Higurashi had in fact, fainted, and was lying facedown on the carpet in the hallway, and Grandpa looked intimidated. Inunobu curled his upper lip and revealed a very long shiny white fang. Both of his hands glowed green with the poison threatening to come from his claws. _Would it really be so bad if her family was to die? Inuyasha would no doubt be enraged and saddened by Kagome's death, but he could get over the loss of these ingrates._ He raised one poison clawed hand in a menacing posture. He felt two small hands on his body, one on his forearm that was raised to strike, and one on his collarbone. His red eyes returned to their golden state, and he regained his composure. _I…what…was I about to do to them? I was going to kill them. I was really going to…_ It was then that he heard the voice that had been pleading with him the entire time.

'PLEASE INUNOBU WHAT ARE YOU DOING? They are my f-family…I-I…don't hurt them…please…' Kagome was hysterical. Her crying only made her stutter her words between sobs. Tears poured from her eyes.

'I…Kagome….I'm sorry. I don't know what happened…I just lost control.' At this she gave him a relieved hug, not a loving hug. It was more for her sake. She crushed him into an embrace, sobbing silently the whole time.

**Kaede's **

Inuyasha walked through the flap that covered the opening to Kaede's hut. He noticed Shippo curled into a ball in the corner. Sango and Miroku sat beside each other like always, and Kirara rested on Sango's lap. He laughed to himself, Shippo was probably still to scared of Inuyasha's elder brother to go anywhere near him. It was then that he noticed that Inunobu was not there. Miroku and Sango were asleep.

'Miroku, Sango, where is Inunobu? Where is my half brother?'

'I am sorry Inuyasha but we do not know, he left about fifteen minutes ago, he said he would return shortly,' the monk answered.

'Try not to worry so much Inuyasha,' the demon slayer coaxed, 'the worst that can happen is that we have to go look for him. With Kagome on the other side of the well there is no reason to worry; nothing can happen to her besides failing those tests she's worrying about.

'I suppose you're right. Still, what was the last thing that Inunobu said before he told you he was leaving?'

'He asked us how Kagome got through the well, and Kaede told her that she used the Shikon Jewel.' All three of them came to the same realization at the same time. _Inunobu was made into a full demon as he is now through the jewels power, meaning he must have absorbed the energy. Which means…HE CAN GO THROUGH THE WELL._ Inuyasha said three words before racing off to the well.

'Got to go.' He ran up the gentle hill towards where the Bone Eater's Well was located and dove in without giving it a second thought.

**Kagome's House**

'Mom, Grandpa, Souta, this is Inunobu, he is Inuyasha's half brother. He really did not mean to scare you; he just is very sensitive to being called a beast. Please, don't be afraid of him, he won't hurt you.'

The family was less that convinced. The family along with Inunobu was seated at their kitchen table. Souta wore a terrified expression on his face as he sat across the table from the demon. _Those eyes, I can't get them out of my head! What an awful demon!_

'Kagome,' Souta spoke up meekly, 'isn't Inuyasha's half brother the one who tries to kill you guys all the time?'

'No Souta that is Sesshomaru and Inunobu here is much nicer than he is.' She could see Souta visibly shudder. She couldn't blame him, the look in Inunobu's eyes had been the same as when he was hunting Shippo in the woods, and Shippo, unlike Souta, at least was somewhat used to seeing demons angry. He was around Inuyasha when he transformed into a full fledged demon, and Shippo still hadn't fully gotten over his fear of Inunobu yet. Inunobu could see that this situation was going no where unless he did something himself to remedy it.

'Souta was it? I truly am sorry, your grandfather was right, I am a beast.' Souta was now extremely confused. He saw that the demon was genuinely feeling bad for what he had done. _Was it possible that all that this demon wanted was to be accepted somewhere. I guess with that personality, the people he chooses to keep in his company do not stay alive long._ Souta felt a little empathy for the demon. His mother was still fainted, and their grandpa had gone to take care of her.

Kagome noticed that Inunobu's hand was clenched very tightly when he was talking to Souta. _Inunobu, you must be so lonely._ She gently draped her hand over his clenched fist, startling Inunobu into unclenching his hand.

Inunobu picked up a sound of a door closing softly outside, and the pattering of feet against the cement of the shrine ground. _Inuyasha has finally realized that I came. It is too late to make myself scarce. I may well be forced into a fight with another brother. _The door opened to reveal a very panicked Inuyasha searching the room for Kagome first, then his half brother.

'You.'

'Inuyasha, I was wondering when you would come.'

'Damn you, you could have hurt Kagome. I'll kill you for tricking us like that bastard!' Inuyasha threw a punch at Inunobu's head. His older brother caught the fist in his own hand, but made no move to retaliate. 'What's the matter,' Inuyasha continued on to taunt him, 'even animals know self defense!'

Kagome saw that Inunobu was visibly struggling with himself. She placed the same hand in a reassuring position on his shoulder. It only seemed to affect him slightly. As he ran through Inuyasha, knocking him over, and continued out the door into the night. Inuyasha bolted up to follow him outside, only to find a ball of light engulfing him. A golden eyed white canine emerged from the light and looked angrily at Inuyasha. It gave one fleeting glance at Kagome and Souta, still in the house, and ran down the long stairs of the shrine into the street below, rounding the corner and disappearing from sight. Kagome ran to where Inuyasha was standing.

'Inunobu! Wait!' she cried.

**Half an Hour Later **

'Inuyasha! We have to look for him; he could cause so much chaos if he is left to himself out there! Think of all the people that he could hurt.'

'Kagome, no, did you see him? He was wild; there is no way he would let us anywhere close to him in his condition.'

'Inuyasha we have to try!'

'Besides Kagome, I can't follow his scent in this village. The air is filled with too many smells to sift through, there is no way to find him unless we see him with our eyes, and we have the best chance of that during the day. Besides, giving him one night will cool him off. What the hell is wrong with him anyways?

'It's your fault! He hates being called an animal, beast, or savage, that's like me bringing up Kikyo with you…' She trailed off as she realized what she said. 'Inuyasha…I'm sorry, it slipped.'

'It's ok Kagome.'

Kagome looked at him sadly. The subject of the resurrected priestess was a soft spot for both of them. It hurt Inuyasha because he loved her, and she was not the same as she once was when she was alive, and it pained Kagome because she loved Inuyasha, while he had openly told her that Kikyo was the only one he could be with. Still she resolved that there was the more urgent matter of finding Inunobu.

**The Streets of Tokyo**

A dog could be seen running down the streets of Tokyo. It was raining heavily, and it was three hours after Inuyasha had arrived at Kagome's shrine. Inunobu was in his canine form, being chased by a strange contraption with motorized wheels.

'God damn it man, I've never seen any kind of dog run like that one,' said one man.

'Yeah me either, but he looks stray, maybe even rabid, and it's our job to get those animals off the streets,' the other responded.

Inunobu blurred down the streets of downtown Tokyo. No one was on the streets because of the rain, and it was late enough at night to leave them relatively devoid of cars. Inunobu, of course, had no idea what a car was, so he attacked the ones that seemed to move of their own accord when he ran past them on the road. He had been running for at least two of the three hours that he had been away from Kagome and Inuyasha. He had been running hard, as fast as his dog form would carry him, but this machine could keep pace with him, barely. _Damn that…metal…monster…_he thought between breaths. _I have to end this, my strength is draining fast. _He turned into an alleyway.

'Hah, that stupid mutt cornered himself.'

'Alright you ready Yoko?'

'Always.'

The pair got out of the car. Inunobu eyed them carefully. They held odd looking clubs made of wood and metal, and they inserted tiny arrows with colored ends into one end of it. One of them, the one named Yoko, pointed the club directly at Inunobu. There was a sharp popping sound, and Inunobu felt a sharp prick in his side. _The tiny arrow? How did it get to me?_

'Nice shot Yoko.'

_Nice shot? As in, that thing is some type of bow? What kind of world does Kagome live in anyway? I will discover that after I take care of these…p-people…_His thought jumbled as the edges of his line of sight blurred. He felt a little drowsy.

'I shot that dog with enough tranquilizer to put him out for a whole day, and he isn't even moving. I'll have to hit him again.'

_No, human, you won't. _The dark, damp alleyway filled with a bright light as a humanoid form emerged from the light. The two men looked shocked beyond belief.

'W-What the fuck are y-you?'

'A demon, you fool, isn't it obvious, or did you fail to notice the dog ears on my head.' Yoko and the other man looked at him in terror and awe.

'Look at those ears, man!' he turned to address Inunobu, 'answer us, what in hell are you, and don't give us some bullshit about demons!'

'You mock me human?' His eyes began to again glow red from intense anger. Both of the men screamed in fear before a red flash emerged from Inunobu's fingertips, ending both of their lives with one stroke. One civilian passerby had seen it all, and reported it to the animal control agency. He did not mention the transformation for fear of them thinking that his report was false.

**The Morning, Kagome's House**

Kagome awoke tired. She had not gotten much sleep, and she doubted Inuyasha got even an hour's worth. She turned on the television out of habit, then was about to switch it off when a story came onto the news that caught her attention.

"This is an urgent news bulletin warning people to be careful on the streets today,' it began, 'because it has been confirmed that two workers at the local Tokyo dog pound have been killed by a rabid dog running lose throughout the city. We will now take you live to the scene where this vicious animal continues to avoid capture, even when shot with tranquilizer darts.'

The television went to a helicopter camera where is showed a very familiar white dog racing down the streets, outrunning most cars. Although Kagome could not see well, she noticed that the animal seemed to be limping slightly. It seemed the animal control agency had the canine cornered. Its hackles were raised on its back and it received several tranquilizer darts to its body. It shuddered for an instant before refocusing and lunging at the throat of the nearest human with a tranquilizer gun. The dog only knocked him down and kept running, but it was clear that the darts had done some work on the creature. Kagome was now positive that the dog was Inunobu.

'Inuyasha! Inuyasha come here! I know where Inunobu is!'

'How do you know?'

'Look,' she said, pointing to the TV.

'Kagome not that stupid box again, what good can it possibly…' he cut himself short as he saw the dog on the screen running among the cars in the street.

'Kagome lets move.'

'Right.'

**With Inunobu**

_I'm dead. There is no way I can escape them. If I cannot escape the metal machines on the ground, what damned chance do I have against a flying machine. If I transform into my demon state it will only attract more attention. At least this way the humans think I am just some wild animal._ He ran, continuing at the grueling pace he had kept up with most of the night. His lungs were on fire, and his throat was too dry to make even the smallest growls. His paws bled because of the hard substance that the ground seemed to be made of. His vision was almost totally out of focus, and he wondered what those arrows could have done to him. He made a quick decision and ducked into another alleyway. Before any of the humans arrived he transformed into his humanoid state and jumped over the wall that separated one alley from another. When he was on the other side, the most he could do before collapsing was transforming into his canine form again.

Inuyasha, with Kagome on his back, raced through the streets. Inuyasha followed Kagome's directions, and it kept them away from the eyes of the humans. Inuyasha wore the same hat that he usually wore when he went off the Higurashi Shrine's grounds. As they neared Inunobu, Inuyasha no longer needed directions because Inunobu's scent was in the air. It was a mix between his scent and his blood's scent. Inuyasha dropped into the alleyway to find the dog demon lying helpless on the ground, still conscious.

'Inunobu…' Kagome said sadly. She reached with a hand to stroke the fur on the side of his neck.

'Kagome, what are you doing?' Inuyasha demanded rather suspiciously.

'Making sure he is all right!'

'Since when do you care whether or not he's alright? Don't tell me you've gone soft on him.'

'Inuyasha! This is not the time to argue…we need to get him back to my house.' Kagome shot back. As if to demonstrate that he needed no help Inunobu shakily rose to his standing position as a dog.

'Kagome, you're going to have to hold on a little tighter on the way back.'

'Ok, Inuyasha.' Inuyasha knelt down so Kagome could climb on his back, and then grabbed Inunobu and started in the direction of Kagome's house.

**Kagome's House, Three Hours Later**

Inuyasha and Kagome had arrived home with Inunobu. He refused assistance in getting in the house, and snarled at Kagome or Inuyasha every time they tried to give him help coming inside.

_Damn it you fools, my injuries are not serious; it is just fatigue. Stop trying to treat me like an infant. I need no help from anyone. _He had assumed his humanlike form soon after he found a suitable place to rest in the corner of the living room.

Kagome noticed that other than his bruised and battered hands, which had healed in the first few hours, he looked very tired. _Has he been running all night? Of course he has, and it's our fault for driving him away. _She couldn't wait any longer, so she began talking to the fatigued demon. He still had not gone to sleep, but he had not moved much from that spot in the room.

'Inunobu…I…I'm sorry we drove you away,' she said rather quietly. She was surprised when she heard him answer.

'I was the one who decided to run, not you. I don't understand how you can even think that you had something to do with this, Kagome. You were the one trying to calm me down.' Inunobu noticed that Kagome was sobbing silently. _I will never come to understand human emotions. Still, why does she cry? I met these people, when, about a month ago? I tried to kill half of them, and she is crying._

Inuyasha stepped forward. 'Inunobu is completely right Kagome; he is the one who was stupid enough to run off into a world he didn't know. I will promise not to call him an animal though,' he added more softly.

'Inunobu,' Kagome said more confidently, 'I know why you act this way. I know why you sometimes lose control of yourself.' Inunobu was now looking straight at her. 'You see, Inuyasha is the same way. When he gets extremely angry, or his life is threatened, and he doesn't have the Tetsusaiga, his demon blood takes control of him. He cannot stop himself; someone must do it for him. When you got that angry when my grandpa and Inuyasha called you an…an animal, you lost control. I think that when your father used the Shikon Jewel to make you a full fledged demon, some you half demon self remained. You don't have a sword to keep yourself in check when you lose control. Does…that make any sense to you?'

Inunobu, who was listening to Kagome speak, nodded in response. _I didn't think of that, but it makes sense. I think it would be best now if I rested for at least a few hours. _

'Inunobu, if you don't mind me asking…why does being called an animal upset you so much? Is it a bad memory?'

'Sesshomaru.'

He cast one more glance at Kagome, then at Inuyasha, and closed his eyes. Once he was asleep, Kagome turned to Inuyasha.

'Hey Inuyasha, why don't we take a day off tomorrow and relax, I think Inunobu needs a break more than any of us.'

A/N: Well, that's the end of chapter 4. Keep in touch, next chapter you will see familiar faces of minor characters from the series.


	6. Chapter 5: A Break

_Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from Inuyasha._

**Chapter 5: A Break**

**Kagome's House**

Kagome yawned as she climbed out of bed. She looked around her room to find Inuyasha, with his back against the wall, looking off into nothing. It was the same position he had been in when she went to sleep. He looked deep in thought. _Inuyasha thinking is not a good thing. It takes something really important to get him to focus on something._

'Morning Inuyasha,' she said softly, wondering if he could even hear her. He grunted a response. It sounded like a "keh" with his mouth closed. _I wonder if whatever he is thinking about has to do with Inunobu. They don't get along very well, but they are brothers. Is something about Inunobu troubling him?_

'Um…Inu…yasha? What's the matter?' she asked. He looked up this time, and seemed to register that someone was talking to him.

'Nothing important.'

_What a typical Inuyasha-ish response! I wish for once he would just let me help him. _She stubbornly decided to sit next to the half demon until he decided to talk. _He's going to tell me what's bothering him whether he likes it or not. Otherwise I'll just sit him until he does._

'Kagome, what are you doing?'

'Waiting for you to answer my question, that's what!'

'I said it was nothing, didn't you hear me?'

'Inuyasha, I can tell something's bothering you so spit it out.'

'I said it was nothing! Leave me alone…as if you could help me anyway,' he said harshly. Kagome looked hurt, then angry. Her hand turned into a fist and began to shake.

'I was only trying to help you stubborn idiot! You seemed sad so I wanted to help, and all you can do is yell at me. You…SI-' Inuyasha quickly covered her mouth with his hand to muffle the word to avoid the pain of being subdued. One hand covered her mouth while the other arm rose to his face. He put his free hand in front of his mouth motioned for her to be quiet. Kagome immediately stopped talking and looked into Inuyasha's eyes. She began to blush very deeply, because they were very close together against one of the walls of her room.

_Oh man, he is really close to me. His eyes are so…Kagome snap out of it! _She slowly brought her hand up to the one on her mouth and dragged it away. _I…I need to think of…of something to say. This silence is killing me._

'Inuyasha, I…are you sure that you don't want to tell me what's wrong?' She tried to calm her heart down, which was beating faster than normal.

Inuyasha had a similar feeling. _Kagome…I…I'll just tell her what I'm thinking about so we can get out of here. _'I was just thinking…about yesterday…did Inunobu…why did he come anyway?'

'Inuyasha, he didn't come to hurt me if that's what you're asking. I don't know really. He just showed up. At first I thought he was a stray dog. His eyes are so piercing though. When I saw his cold eyes I went to warn my family, and I knew it wasn't a regular stray. But we should just talk to him about it…I'm sure he will agree to telling us something.'

Inuyasha nodded. They rose to go downstairs. On the way down they noticed that the house was very quiet. There was no sound of her mother cooking delicious breakfast, or her brother's videogames. Not even her grandpa, who was usually always ranting about feudal Japan, could be heard. She began to get worried. She cast a glance at Inuyasha, and he understood what she was feeling.

'They aren't hurt Kagome, I can't smell any blood. They are all in that room over there,' he pointed, 'Come to think of it…isn't that where we left Inunobu?'

They walked faster until they reached the living room. She looked to her left when she entered the room, and saw her family, all crouched in a corner against the wall, holding each other, staring at something on her right. She turned her gaze to follow theirs. She saw a still sleeping Inunobu. _What are they scared of? Inunobu's not even awake. Sure he was sometimes scary, but not when he was sleeping. _And then she saw what could have put so much fear into her family. Every now and then, Inunobu opened his eyes a fraction of an inch, to reveal the same familiar crimson glow. She slowly made her way over to him.

'Kagome! No don't go near it,' her mother whispered quietly yet forcefully.

_It?_ Inunobu's eyes fluttered one more time before Kagome stood by his side. Inuyasha was already there, hand on the hilt of his sword just in case Inunobu turned violent again. Kagome knelt down beside the demon and placed one hand on the demon's chest, grasping his hand with the other. Inunobu opened his eyes fully, exposing the gleaming red eyes, before they faded to a piercing gold color. _Come on Inunobu, _Kagome thought, _you don't want to hurt my family. I promised that you would get a break today, and I'm not going to break it. _

Inunobu came out of his dream to find Kagome crouching over him, and Inuyasha standing, with Tetsusaiga's hilt grasped. He saw Kagome's family against the wall, cowering. _What did I do? Did I hurt them?_ He looked alarmed.

'Kagome, did I hurt your family? What have I done?'

Kagome's eyes widened. _He seems so sad. This is nothing like the Inunobu I know. His voice is full of concern. _'Inunobu you didn't do anything. Nothing at all, do you hear me? My family was just a little scared because your eyes were…they…turned red. Were you dreaming?'

Inunobu nodded. 'I was dreaming about yesterday…reliving everything in my head. I should go…I was not injured much. I should go back through that well.'

'No,' Kagome started, and Inunobu looked at her seriously, 'I promised that you would have a good break today. It would be the first in a while from what I've seen. I think it would be nice if you could see the future without all the people chasing you.'

Inunobu said nothing. He turned his gaze towards Inuyasha, then down to his hand on Tetsusaiga. Inuyasha saw where he was looking, and dropped his hand from the sword. _I didn't expect them to trust me. They have good reason not to. Inuyasha may be the smartest of all of them when it comes to me. I…cannot deny that I wished that they would trust me. _He stopped thinking for a moment, and then began with a new line of thought. _What am I thinking_? _I was close to killing Kagome's family, and I did not exactly make myself looked innocent by storming off into that village like that. _

_What a strange village that was. The buildings were made of steel and glass. It must have taken a very long time to make those. _He stopped thinking to himself and looked away from Inuyasha and over to Kagome's family. He opened his mouth to speak, but found no words. Kagome noticed this.

'Mom, Souta, Grandpa, please come out from the corner. Don't be afraid of him. I'm positive he regrets what he did. Besides we have Inuyasha here to help us.' To make her words more convincing, Buyo the family cat jumped onto Inunobu's chest and began to purr loudly. Kagome laughed.

'See? Buyo knows. Come out of the corner.' Her family reluctantly stood and left the room, Souta going up the stairs quickly to his room, and Mrs. Higurashi, along with Grandpa, walked into the kitchen.

'Ok, let me just take a quick shower and then we can go!' Kagome ran to her room, grabbed some clothes, hurried into the bathroom, and shut the door, leaving Inuyasha and Inunobu in the living room.

Inuyasha, whose eyes had been on Kagome, failed to notice Inunobu walk out of the doors to the front of the house and come to a stop under the Goshinboku. When Inuyasha realized he was gone, he followed his scent outside.

'Inuyasha, I do not remember asking for you to follow me.'

'Just making sure you don't get into any more trouble is all.'

'Hmph.'

Several minutes passed until Inuyasha spoke again. 'Before we leave, can you tell me something?' Inuyasha's voice was impatient but not unfriendly.

'And what would that be?'

'Can you tell me about…our father?'

Inunobu looked intently at Inuyasha. _Sesshomaru has told him nothing? I thought he lived under Sesshomaru's protection._

'Sesshomaru told you nothing? Did you not live there for the first part of your life?'

'Well…no…my mother, she decided to leave…she could tell that Sesshomaru hated us.'

'She was correct.'

'What the hell kind of response is that? I just wanted to know if you could tell me what my old man was like! If you don't want to tell me then fine I don't care.'

_Insolence! Old man? Our father was perhaps the strongest demon to ever walk the face of this earth, and Inuyasha is disrespectful of him. That woman, IZAYOI! She caused my father's death. Why am I even here? I should have killed them, all of them. _He caught himself and regained his composure. He refused to lose control of himself like a weak half demon would.

'Now what the hell is wrong with you. Damn it are you going to tell me or not.'

Inunobu drew in a breath very slowly. 'What, Inuyasha, do you wish to know?'

'Anything I don't know already.'

'That's not very helpful, why don't you tell me what it is that you do know.'

Inuyasha told his half brother about the enemies he had heard of his father defeating. He told him of the Three Swords of the Fang. The truth was he only knew what other people had told him. He wanted to know if what they had said was the truth.

'Inuyasha, you have one part of that story mistaken. Our father, the Lord Inu no Taisho, was not killed by Ryuukotsusei, only wounded. The truth is, brother, that our father was killed in the collapse of a burning mansion fighting a human, named Takemaru of Setsuna. He was too weak from the battle with Ryuukotsusei to fight his way out of the burning rubble. He died…saving you and that mortal woman Izayoi.'

Inuyasha stared at him for a good minute and a half. 'Take…maru….killed father? The sword Sounga brought him back to life. Sesshomaru and…we defeated him.'

'Were you not listening, little brother?' said Inunobu angrily, and having the same tone as Sesshomaru, 'Our father died in the rubble of a very large burning mansion. A mere human most definitely not kill him!'

Inuyasha came to a realization. After 200 years of life he understood. _That's why Sesshomaru hates me so much. Our father died trying to save me, a half demon, and his human mate. Does that mean Inunobu despises me as well?_

'I…you're right. Tell me Inunobu…do you despise me like Sesshomaru does? I think I finally understand Sesshomaru.'

'Inuyasha,' he hesitated, 'it is not you I direct my hatred towards, but towards your human mother, Izayoi.'

Inuyasha growled. 'My mother had nothing to do with his death. How could she? She was betrayed by her own village, maybe even her own family.'

'Like Natsumi you mean?' Inunobu smirked.

'Who?'

'My mother.'

Inunobu and Inuyasha stared each other down. Inuyasha began to think. _His mother was killed by her family. Why didn't I remember that?_ 'How old were you when that happened?'

'Three weeks at least.'

A familiar voice rang from the door of the house. She had missed their conversation, and therefore did not know what she was interrupting. She spoke up again, not sure that the two brothers had heard her. She walked toward them and stopped in front of them.

'Are you guys ready to go?' she asked happily. She pulled out two items from behind her back. One was a hat, the other a whitish silver bandana. 'For your ears,' she said, answering Inunobu's questioning glance.

'My ears are fine.'

Kagome laughed. 'Not many people have dog ears you know?' As Kagome said this she reached up to touch one of Inunobu's ears. He wore a curious and surprised expression, which only made her laugh more. Inuyasha meanwhile, looked a little jealous.

**10 Minutes Later**

Kagome and the two dog brothers walked down the streets of Tokyo. Inunobu now had the opportunity to observe. The people of Tokyo cast him strange glances of course, because of his long silver hair, and when someone got close enough to recognize the facial markings, they usually avoided eye contact and kept walking.

'Kagome,' Inunobu started, 'how can you stand to live here? The air smells awful. The streets and houses are all colorless, and it is so crowded.'

'Oh come on Inunobu it isn't that bad. Remember I can't smell as well as you can.'

Kagome got an idea as she approached on of the restaurants that she frequently visited. 'Come on this way, I want you guys to try some of this food.'

Inuyasha's ears perked up when he heard the word food. As he walked another few steps the smell wafted over him. He quickened his pace, grabbing Kagome by the arm. Kagome was blushing a little as they hurried away. Inunobu was left behind, walking at his normal pace. _Kagome cares for Inuyasha does she? Interesting. _

Inuyasha and Kagome now stood outside of Tokyo's own WacDonald's. Inuyasha looked impatient as he watched Inunobu approach. When they all stood together again, they entered. The smell of the place hit Inunobu's face like a brick. He had never smelled something so…different in his entire 400 years of life. He placed one clawed hand on the door handle and braced himself so he would not fall.

'Inunobu what's…wrong? You look like you're off balance.'

Inuyasha laughed slightly. 'It's the smell isn't it, the same thing happened to me when I first walked into one of these places. Just give it a few minutes and you should recover if you're not too weak.'

Inunobu glared at him. _Whatever they are cooking smells strange. It's not bad just…different. I wish Kagome would have warned me. Then again, it probably doesn't have any effect on a human's nose. _Inunobu righted himself.

'What exactly, do they cook here?'

Kagome expression brightened. 'Just wait and see, I'm sure you will like something.'

Kagome told Inuyasha to take Inunobu to a seat and wait for her. She stood in line to order her food. Then three very familiar female voices sounded from behind her.

'Kagome?'

'Oh! Hi Eri. Hi Yuka. How are you Ayumi?'

'Fine,' they all said at once. 'Kagome you look happy,' Ayumi said. 'Did you and your boyfriend finally tell you he loves you?'

'Boyfriend…' _They're talking about Inuyasha of course. _'No not yet, but we are getting along fine.'

'That's great Kagome.'

'Yeah, now if you'll let me go I have to get this food to him before he starts complaining too much.' _Oops, shouldn't have said that. Bad move, Kagome._

'He's here, now?' the girls said, practically hysterical. 'Kagome we've always wanted to meet him. Where is he?' Their gazes crossed the room. Unfortunately for Kagome, the two brothers were the only ones not eating, and the only people who weren't here with family, so they stood out rather easily.

'He's one of them isn't he? Which one is he Kagome?'

Kagome sighed. _I guess there's no reason to lie now, the girls already found them._ 'He's the one in red, and the other one is his brother.'

Eri made a slight gasp. 'They both look good to me Kagome, I'd take either one,' she blurted out. 'Tell me Kagome, how far have you gotten with him?' Kagome blushed very deeply and looked down at the ground. _I kissed Inuyasha once, but I know he still loves Kikyo. I can't do anything about that. I promised myself and Inuyasha that I would always be there with him, and I will never leave him, whether he loves Kikyo or me. I care about him too much._

'Kagome come on! We are going to go talk to them.'

_They're going to what? Inunobu won't understand that at all and Inuyasha is hardly the one to reveal that anything is going on between us. This could turn out so badly._ Kagome hurried to catch up with her friends, who were now within ten feet of Inuyasha and Inunobu's table. Kagome caught them just as they stopped at the table in front of the dog brothers.

Eri set her sights on the older brother, knowing that the other one was reserved for Kagome. _This guy is really something. I've never seen eyes like those; I bet most people get scared by them. _

'Hey I'm Eri, what's your name?' she asked very sweetly.

Inunobu regarded the human girl with mild annoyance. _I never asked her to talk to me. This world is so odd. It's almost like the humans cannot identify a demon on sight, even as if they don't know what a demon is. How is this possible?_

'Be gone hu-' Inunobu stopped as he saw Kagome motioning with her hands, giving him an expression that said "come on, just talk to her, it won't kill you". He sighed

'I am Inunobu.'

'Wow, what a strong name.'

_Of course it's a strong name, human. It is pointless to give someone a weak name. _Inunobu noticed that she continued to get closer and closer to him, almost examining him. He sighed again.

'So you are his older brother? How many years older are you?'

Inunobu nodded. 'I am two hun-'

'Two years older!' Kagome interjected quickly. Sighing for a third time, Inunobu nodded in agreement with her. He thought perhaps this had quenched the human girl's thirst for knowledge about him, but he was mistaken.

'So…do you have a girlfriend, some special girl you share your time with?' Eri continued mercilessly.

'No,' Inunobu responded, now very annoyed.

Eri was a bit taken aback by the subtle harshness in his voice. _Man, this guy is pretty damn hot but he has the personality of a dead fish._ _Oh well, I guess I'll have to keep going until he reveals something._

'Ok, so you're two years older than your brother, but how old are you?'

Inunobu was now stuck. _Four hundred years old. Somehow I don't think this ridiculous human would believe me. Inuyasha looks to be about fifteen years old in human years…_ 'Seventeen,' he said.

Yuka decided to interrupt at this moment, for which Inunobu was most grateful. 'Hey Kagome, I thought his brother didn't get along with him that well.'

'That's his other brother.'

'Oh, so you two get along fine then?'

'No,' both brothers answered at the same time, in the same tone of voice.

'Oh…okay…' returned Yuka, with a confused look.

Eri noticed something that caught her complete attention. She was completely enthralled with whatever she was looking at. To Inunobu's disappointment, she was staring at him…again. She was about to speak but closed her mouth. She let another half minute pass before speaking, by which point everyone at the table was curious to know whatever it was that she wanted.

'Your eyes…they're…beautiful.'

_What? WHAT? My eyes are beautiful…how could that human say something like…if I wasn't…I should…ah damn it all, humans are such pests. I could never understand human fascination with… _He stopped thinking as something very warm and soft touched the side of his cheek. It had a very pleasant feeling, but it made Inunobu extremely uncomfortable. He looked down to see a hand, connected to an arm, which he followed with his eyes to see Eri gazing at him. He did not know what to think. No one had ever done anything like this before. He could care less about the human, but the feeling was incredible. As incredible as it was however, it was too uncomfortable at the moment. He felt helpless. _How do I get this damned human away from me? There must be a way. I will not kill one of Kagome's friends without good reason, and showing disrespect to a powerful demon does not count in this era as an excuse._ His left arm was drape over the back of the seat, where only Kagome could see it. Inunobu's claws glowed green involuntarily.

Kagome saw this and became aware of what could happen. _Inunobu doesn't seem to dislike what Eri is doing, which means somewhere underneath that cold outside layer is probably a heart. He is just like Sesshomaru; I know he cares for that human companion, Rin. _Kagome moved so she was directly behind Eri, and took the seemingly hypnotized girl's hand, which was glued to Inunobu's cheek, in both of hers and pulled it away softly.

'Eri,' she whispered, 'you can't do this, Inunobu is not used to being handled like this. Please, I don't want anyone hurt.'

'O…Ok K-Kagome…I think I'll just…um…go now. I'll wait for you guys outside.' With that Eri was up and walking swiftly to the entrance of WacDonald's.

As soon as Eri was gone Yuka and Ayumi were silent for a while. Inunobu was still in shock, holding one hand to his cheek where Eri had placed her hand. Inuyasha was sitting still finding the whole situation amusing that someone _actually_ found his brother interesting. Kagome stood still and kept her eyes fixed on Eri, who still had the same star struck expression. Yuka finally broke the silence.

'So…um…Kagome, why don't you introduce us to your boyfriend?'

'HUH?' Inuyasha let out in a confused tone. Kagome gave him a death glare to be quiet.

'Yuka, Ayumi, this is Inuyasha.'

'They both have such old names Kagome, where do they come from?'

'They come from…the west. Yeah, a province that no one really has heard of too much. It's very traditional.'

'Oh,' said both the girls at once. 'Well we don't want to take up all of your eating time. It was nice to meet the both of you,' finished Ayumi. She pulled Yuka with her out the door and Yuka dragged Eri, who cast one last look at Inunobu.

The group began to eat their food. Kagome allowed Inuyasha to try everything because he still was new to all the new foods in the future. Inunobu, however, ate whatever was given to him, and said even less that normal. He communicated with nods or shakes of the head. Kagome could see he was really shaken by something. As they finished the meal, Kagome deposited the bags in the trash. She couldn't help but wonder what it was that had gotten to Inunobu. She could see confusion in his eyes.

**In the Local Mall**

After lunch the three had walked down to the mall. Kagome had some things she said she wanted to pick up. Inuyasha was curious as usual. Inunobu picked at time to speak to Kagome while Inuyasha was busy sniffing all the strange fabrics he found in a clothing store.

'Kagome…'

'What is it Inunobu?'

'What was the meaning of your friend's actions? Why did she…stroke my face?'

'Inunobu, she found you very attractive, I guess a little too attractive. It was just a touch on the cheek. There wasn't anything wrong with what she did; a little invasive sure, but not wrong.'

'Kagome, I am a demon. That human did not fear me at all.'

'She doesn't know what a demon is. No one does. Are you telling me that no one has ever done anything like that to you before?'

Inunobu nodded. _Why did it shake me up so much? Then again, I have never really received open affection from anyone before. My father cared for me, but only mothers and wives would ever touch someone like that. I have never had either._ He suddenly became very serious looking. He locked eyes with Kagome, and she was unsure of what he was thinking.

'Kagome, where….did all the demons go? Why are there no demons in your world?'

The thought had never really occurred to her. _Where did all the demons go?_ She wondered whether they had all been killed or purified. _It wouldn't be possible for Naraku to have absorbed them all because he died._ The thought plagued her mind on the entire walk home. Inuyasha, in the meantime, was enjoying smelling about five boxes of Ramen noodles that he carried in his arms.

**Arriving At Kagome's House, Night**

'Hi everyone I'm home!' Kagome announced in a loud voice.

'Kagome, did everything go ok dear?'

'Yeah why wouldn't it?' _Mom is still scared of Inunobu. I guess that's to be expected._

Her mother emerged from the hallway leading into the living room, followed by Grandpa, who was armed with about 300 paper sutras, ready to be thrown at any moment. Kagome sighed. _Grandpa you have to know that those sutras don't work._

Inunobu came through the doors as Kagome's family gathered around her. As soon as he stepped through the door, he received a sutra charm to the face. It remained plastered to his face for about ten seconds before he reached up with his hand and peeled it off. He looked around the room at the glances coming from the various people. Inuyasha, who had just come through the doorway, wore an amused expression. Kagome looked worried that Inunobu might attack again, and her mother and Souta shared her glance. Grandpa in the mean time was had a triumphant stare until Inunobu pulled off the sutra, and it became one of determination.

'Old man, how many times do I have to tell you that you sutras are use-' He stopped abruptly because another sutra was stuck to his face. 'Useless.' Grandpa threw another one at him after he had removed the sutra on his face, only to see his next charm be slashed to pieces in a flash of claws. Inunobu sighed.

'I will wait outside.'

Kagome looked at him with a curious gaze. _That was different… _

A/N: Keep reading, lots more to come. And review please.


	7. Chapter 6: A Chance Meeting

_Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Inuyasha._

**Chapter 6: A Chance Meeting**

**The Well House, Higurashi Shrine.**

Inunobu waited patiently in the well house for Kagome and Inuyasha so they could return to the feudal era. It was taking longer than he had expected. He still thought about what had transpired that day. Kagome's friend Eri was the first girl to ever touch him with affection. Humans in his era feared him, and during the 200 years he had stayed in the Western Lands, the dog demonesses had been told to stay away from him. In reality, he could not be trusted with anyone, because he had such violent tendencies. Not only that, but he rarely carried out a conversation, so no one really was interested in spending time with him.

_I don't understand. I've never seen a human act that way. I don't know what my reaction should be. I don't even deserve to call myself a full blooded demon anymore. I lose control of myself, I look like a half breed, and I even seem to have human emotions. I have never been so confused in my life. It is best if I just return to my own era and forget about these people. I should just forget about Kagome, Inuyasha, Shippo, Sango, and Miroku. None of this does me any good._

Inunobu was deep in thought. He hadn't noticed that Kagome and Inuyasha had come into the well house. Inunobu was facing away from the door. When Kagome entered the building, she saw Inunobu, head in one hand, staring at the ground in the corner.

'Are you all right?' she spoke from behind him.

He was startled, and Kagome saw him jump just a little bit. She had no idea of what he was thinking that could make him ignore his senses. He seemed to have not smelled or heard her. Inuyasha was still standing on the top of the stairs leading down to the well.

'I'm fine…'

'Sorry we took so long, my mom wanted to have a little…talk…with me before we left. She saw us on the news. Since a wild dog taking several tranquilizers and…killing…two people isn't something that happens all the time here, she was watching it. She says that luckily, Inuyasha was moving too fast for the cameras to get a clear shot at our faces, there'll be no problem.'

'Kagome, I am not a fool,' was Inunobu's answer, 'that could not possibly have taken that long to talk about. Your mother said something else to you.'

She smiled guiltily. _I guess he figured it out. _She walked over to him and made sure that she had Inunobu's eyes.

'You're right…I shouldn't have made that up… My mom told me to…not to…she wanted me to stay here, so that-'

'So that I wouldn't kill you?' he asked flatly.

'Inunobu I know that you wouldn't do anything like that, my mom just doesn't know you. Inuyasha was the one who finally convinced her.'

'You are a fool. How can you say that I won't hurt you? I can't even control myself. I can't promise anything like that. How can you even say that you know me at all? In my four hundred years I've spared maybe a dozen humans that crossed my path. You cannot trust me.'

Kagome looked very hurt. She had just defended Inunobu in front of her family, and so had Inuyasha. _He's not bad I can tell. He's probably just really lonely. He wouldn't hurt me or any of my friends. He doesn't trust himself, and that's the problem._

'Inunobu, don't say things like that! You wouldn't hurt any of us. Why would you? Just give us a chance. You've already been with us for a while now.'

'It is time for it to end.'

'But if you leave us Sesshomaru will-'

Inunobu's eyes flashed red for an instant, and Inuyasha drew Tetsusaiga, but did not transform it.

'I do not fear Sesshomaru! If not for that damned sword I would kill him.'

Inunobu turned towards the well. He put one foot on the edge, and prepared to jump in. By the time Kagome and Inuyasha appeared on the other side he would be long gone. _Let Sesshomaru come, I don't care. If he decides to kill me then it will be the end of a disgraceful demon's life. I was never fit to call myself a full fledged demon. _He lips curved in a light smile. _Of course, he won't take me down easily._

'Goodbye Kagome, and goodbye little brother. I doubt that we will meet again.' With that he jumped into the well and vanished in a flash of purple light.

'Why…why didn't he just stay with us? We would have showed him what it's like to be with friends, to not be alone all the time.'

Inuyasha stepped down into the lower part of the well house and finally spoke. He looked calm. He finally understood his brother. Kagome still didn't understand. Humans never understood. Maybe that was why human and demon relationships never work out, he mused. He almost immediately regretted that thought as an image of Kikyo ran in his mind.

'Kagome, I know what he is feeling. He thinks like a half demon, even though he has a demon's body. He is just like me, before I met…'

'Before you met who,' she asked curiously. Then she understood. 'Before you met Kikyo you mean.'

'Yeah.'

There was silence. Kikyo, the resurrected priestess was not an easy topic for either of them. It would never be. Kagome looked off at the well, and Inuyasha stared at her. _Kagome I'm sorry, but I can't abandon Kikyo. Not now, not ever, as long as she still walks the earth. She was the only person who ever understood me, and I will never be able to thank her enough for that._

'Kagome, Inunobu may never come back, but this helped him. He needs to learn to understand himself, just like I did.'

'Okay…I just wish that he could understand himself…with us. He is your only other relative besides Sesshomaru. I was hoping maybe he could make a common bond with you. I was hoping it would help him.'

Inuyasha normally would never talk to anyone like this. Kagome was different. He could open up to her. He could tell her thing that he had never told Kikyo, which was a painful realization. He could tell Kagome was sad.

'Kagome, you can't go around helping everyone all the time. It's just not possible. Some things just happen.' Inuyasha thought of Kikyo dying. He thought about the tragic end to their love story. _Could it have been different? Was there any way out of it? Kikyo…I wish things could have been better. _

Kagome looked at Inuyasha, who was showing a rare emotion for the Inuyasha that she knew. His eyes were filled with sorrow. _Well if it worked with Inunobu, then it should work on his brother._ She slowly reached up with her hand and stroked Inuyasha's cheek. _I don't like seeing him so sad, I hope this works._

Inuyasha remembered bittersweet experiences with Kikyo. He remembered how she would always pin him to a tree, two arrows in each sleeve, one in each leg. She told him that she couldn't kill him because he was an outcast, like her. She was always so kind, yet cold. He felt Kagome's hand against his cheek, soothing him and his troubled mind. He looked down at her for a few moments before embracing her. He held her for at least half a minute before pulling away and looking at her.

'Thanks for that Kagome, I needed it.' _Kagome really isn't like Kikyo. She is warm and happy. She is not reserved. Even when Kikyo was with me, she would always stay so calm._

Kagome was still a little in shock from the hug she had received. _Wow, that was more than expected. My heart is beating so fast. I guess all dog demons, even half dog demons, like affection. They aren't so different from some of my friend's pets._ She laughed a little to herself, and then became serious again.

'Inunobu…is probably already gone.'

'He doesn't know what to do right now,' Inuyasha soothed, 'all he needs is time.'

'We should get going Inuyasha. We won't even be able to try and get Inunobu to come back if we stick around here.'

'Let's go then.'

They both moved towards the well. They waited for a second before jumping in. When they emerged on the other side, Inunobu was no where to be seen. They walked back to Kaede's hut, to find only Miroku, Sango, Shippo, and Kirara waiting.

**Deep in the Forest, Far from the Well**

He ran as fast as his legs would carry him. _Damn it all, what's wrong with me? I don't understand anything at all. I'm so confused. Sesshomaru always told me company was worthless. He told me for 200 years that the people around me were mere tools to achieve a goal. I never thought much of companionship myself. Of course, I never really gave anyone a chance to get close to me._ He slowed his pace, feeling that he was far enough away for the time being. He smelled a faint scent on the wind that smelled almost like a graveyard. _I guess there's a cemetery near here. What a strange place to put one though._

'Wait a moment.'

Inunobu froze. The voice came from no where, almost from the air itself. There were no humans or demons nearby, not even animals. _What the hell was that?_ _I guess I imagined it, I haven't been myself lately. _He started to walk again. The voice spoke again, but this time, mere feet behind him.

'Wait.'

He spun around and saw a human. It didn't smell like any human he had ever encountered. It was a very beautiful priestess. She had a bow slung over her shoulder, and a quiver of arrows on her back.

'Who are you priestess, and how is it that you mask your scent?'

'I am Kikyo.'

'Kikyo? You are the priestess that Kaede….'

'So you have met my sister? I suppose that means that you have met Inuyasha.'

'He is my brother.'

'Yes, I can see the connection, but you are a full demon.'

Inunobu smirked. 'Of sorts yes.'

'I came this way because I sensed a faint trace of the Shikon Jewel. It comes from you. You used the jewel to make yourself a full fledged demon.'

'My father used it, but yes.'

'Now that I am closer to you, I can sense restlessness in your spirit. What troubles you?'

'That is none of your concern priestess.' _I just want to be left alone. Everyone needs time to think._

'If you do not wish to tell me, that is your choice. I know the things that trouble Inuyasha, and he is your brother. I thought perhaps your thought would be similar. I will go then.'

Inunobu watched the priestess turn and start to walk away. _Could she really have helped me? It is so lowly to receive help from a human, but I must know why I feel like this._

'Wait…Kikyo.'

She stopped at the mention of her name. The demon was being more personal with her. _He is unlike any full demon I have ever encountered. It is almost as if he kept his half demon soul when he was transformed with the Shikon no Tama. _She turned to face Inunobu once again.

'What is it?'

'I wish to know something. I don't understand myself. Can you truly help me?'

'Why don't you start by telling me your name?'

'It is Inunobu.'

'Very well Inunobu. Give me your hand so I can feel what your soul feels.'

Inunobu walked up to her. He was very hesitant. _She is human; she cannot possibly help me, a demon. _He held his hand out halfway to her extended one. She smiled softly and took his hand before he could take it away. She tapped into her spiritual powers and began to feel exactly what Inunobu felt. When she was finished she dropped her hand.

'Inunobu, you must go back with them. Sometimes spending time with other people teaches us about ourselves. I am sure that they have the answer you seek, even if they do not know it themselves.'

Inunobu thought about this. He knew he wanted to return, but was afraid he would fall into the same trap the caught his father. The humans were dangerous to a demon's state of mind. They were so different. It was not that he wanted a human woman as his mate, but if he became too attached, he might risk his own life for theirs.

'If you are still unsure, Inunobu, then listen to what I am about to say to you. The Shikon Jewel cannot take anyone's soul from them. It can corrupt the soul, but never change it entirely. Your father used the Shikon Jewel on you to make you a full demon, but it could never make your soul into that of a full demon. Your soul is warped, but it still belongs to a half demon.'

Inunobu nodded. He took one last look at the priestess, his eyes thanking her, and then sped off into the forest in the direction he had come. _I still will not return for a few days, I need some time to think, but I believe I will go back._

**Kaede's Hut**

'Inuyasha, Kagome, ye have returned,' greeted Kaede.

Neither of them said much, only nodded. Kaede could tell something was the matter. She stared at the pair as the entered and watched them, as they met Sango and Miroku. Shippo was curled up asleep in Kirara's fur.

'Kagome, Inuyasha, is everything alright?' asked the demon slayer.

'Kind of,' Kagome responded.

'Kagome, was Inunobu able to travel into the future with you?' Miroku questioned.

'Yes, but he isn't here right now.'

'Did he try to hurt anyone? Are you alright?'

'Yes we're fine. I think he just wanted to know what the future is like. He…left…we don't really know where he went to.'

'Keh, Kagome you know I can still smell him right. I could follow him if you want.'

'Why did he leave ye? Do not tell me that he is loose in your era Kagome,' said Kaede in a serious tone.

'No he came back here.' _Might as well tell them what happened. They won't understand unless they know all of it._

Kagome sat down and describes the entire experience. She told them how Inunobu could change into a regular sized dog, how he had run into the city and been chased. She told them about Eri, and they regarded her with surprise. Then she told them what he had said about them being foolish for trusting him.

'He just left after that. He said he probably wouldn't see us again. I don't know where he's going to go.'

'That is strange behavior for a demon,' Sango stated. 'I have never heard of a full blooded demon losing control like that.'

'I think it's because he is not really a full demon at heart. The jewel didn't take some of his half demon traits.'

'That could be the case,' Miroku commented. 'I will ask my master, the high monk Mushin for all of his knowledge on dog demons. He may be a drunkard, but he is very wise. I will set off tomorrow morning. Will you be coming with me, my dear Sango?'

Sango blushed. 'I…sure…I'll come with you.'

**The Forest Bordering Kaede's Village**

Inunobu sat with his back against a large tree, facing a small lake. It was a full moon, and the light shown off the lake and prevented him from finding sleep easily. Instead he thought to himself. Kikyo's words were most likely true. She was beautiful and wise; it was no wonder Inuyasha fell for her. It is difficult to have a relationship with someone who is dead, he thought. _Why doesn't he just realize that it wasn't meant to be? Kagome clearly loves him._

'I just don't know anymore.'

A familiar scent came to him. He decided not to get up; he honestly did not care. The figure approached, and Inunobu picked up three other scents. He heard them walking through to the edge of the trees that bordered the lake and stop behind him.

'I believe I said that if you went anywhere alone, you would die.'

'Kill me then, brother. If you wish to fight here and now, then so be it. I am tired of this.'

Inunobu stood and turned to face him. Sesshomaru stood at the tree line, with Jaken, Rin, and Ah and Un, the two headed serpent. Inunobu was in no mood for conversation.

'Sesshomaru, if you wish to fight me, then tell me now, so that I may prepare myself.'

Sesshomaru eyed him for a moment. _My brother seems different. He seems more in control of himself. How ironic that his experiences with humans would teach him to behave more like a full blooded demon. _'That will not be necessary, little brother; you have learned to act like a son of the great Lord Inu no Taisho at last. It only took you 400 years,' Sesshomaru taunted.

Inunobu eyed Sesshomaru with cold emotionless eyes. 'Better late than never I suppose.'

'Indeed.'

'I find it amusing that you are concerned about my behavior. It's almost like your taking the role of a real brother.'

'Nonsense fool, our father's reputation is at stake. If other demons see you running around like a beast hunting humans and demons alike for meals, you insult of father's memory.'

Inunobu laughed coldly. 'If that is all you came to say then allow me some peace and leave.'

'Gladly, little brother.' He turned to leave, but spoke again when his back was turned. 'Inunobu, under no circumstances will you take a mortal for a mate. I do not care what station a mortal has, I will kill her. I will not have the bloodline weakened by yet another half breed.'

_Sesshomaru, how dare you even say something like that? I know just as well as you do that it was father's love for that mortal that brought him to his end. You take me for a fool. _Inunobu lashed out with his light whip at Sesshomaru's back. Sesshomaru easily dodged to the side, traces of a mock smile forming on his face.

'It is good to see that you understand little brother. Farewell.'

**Two Days Later, After Miroku and Sango have Departed**

Kagome stood next to Inuyasha. They awaited Miroku and Sango's return. Kagome was getting more and more saddened. Inunobu had not returned, although she half didn't expect him to. Inuyasha had said that he was in the forest on the hill, directly across from Kaede's. Kagome had twice caught glimpses of him walking through the trees, but Inuyasha said it was best for her not to bother him.

Inuyasha could smell Miroku and Sango, and they were probably about ten to fifteen minutes away. He understood Inunobu better than Kagome did, so he knew that the demon wanted to be left alone. He would come back when he was ready to. Inuyasha knew that Inunobu would come back, perhaps even against the dog demon's own better judgment, because Inuyasha would have returned if he were in the same position. Shippo, he noticed, was a little relieved that the demon was not around. _Shippo will never make a very tough demon. He spends so much time around battles I would think some of it would rub off on the runt._

Miroku and Sango could be seen on the horizon, flying on a transformed Hachi, the raccoon dog demon. Kagome seemed to become even sadder as she saw them. When they landed, Kagome did not come greet them, as she would normally do.

'So, you guys learn anything useful from Mushin.'

'Surprisingly,' said Miroku, 'not really.' He rubbed the back of his head while he spoke, embarrassed that he had so much faith in his master that seemed to be for nothing.

'Well, did he tell you anything at all?'

'Well actually, he spent most of his time talking about dog demon mating rituals. I found some of it very interesting. Especially the…ow! Sango, what was that for?'

'Pervert.' She removed her hiraikotsu from its resting place on the back of Miroku's head.

'Keh, big surprise there that an old drunk only knows about demon mating rituals; what did you expect out of him anyway Miroku?'

'Well he did tell us that dog demons enjoy physical contact, like what Kagome said her friend did to Inunobu.'

Kagome winced at the mention of the demon's name. Miroku noticed this.

'He still has not returned?' the monk asked solemnly. Kagome shook her head.

'Kagome,' the demon slayer said in a confused tone, 'if Inunobu has not returned, then why is he standing in the meadow over there?'

Kagome's eyes widened as she looked over to where Sango was talking about. Sure enough, Inunobu stood in the grass before the edge of the forest. He was looking at the group with a blank expression. Kagome waved unsurely at him. It was a half wave, lacking her usual happy energy. _I wonder if he is just coming to see us leave _she thought. Inunobu, who was a good 300 feet away, coiled his legs under him and jumped into the air, landing about thirty or forty feet away.

'Does this mean you're going to come with us?' Kagome asked hopefully.

'If you will allow me to do so.'

'Of course we will! Right Inuyasha?'

'Keh! Not like I care.'

Kagome giggled. 'That means yes.'

Inunobu closed the distance between them and stood facing Kagome and Inuyasha. He looked calm, but some of the overwhelming sadness and cruelty in his golden eyes was gone. He turned his gaze to Sango and Miroku, Kirara on Sango's shoulder. The demon slayer had decided to let Kirara ride along to give the cat a break. Inunobu looked at Shippo, who promptly hid behind Kagome. Inunobu sighed, and Kagome laughed.

'If you don't mind, I have been sitting for almost two days now. I need to stretch my legs.' Inunobu was immediately surrounded by a ball of light. A white dog with familiar golden eyes walked out of the light.

'Ah, that's an interesting talent you have there. Kagome told us about it but it is an intriguing sight to behold,' Miroku said.

Inunobu let out something that sounded like a bored growl.


	8. Chapter 7: Relapse

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Inuyasha._

**Chapter 7: Relapse**

**On the Road**

The group walked along a path, leading to the next village. They were really just wandering aimlessly, because Koga, the leader of the wolf demon tribe, had the remaining jewel shards. Inunobu had fallen silent, as usual. He walked behind everyone, but did not stay as far away as before. He was getting hungry, and he could tell that the others were as well. Inuyasha walked at the front, arms crossed. Inunobu could smell animals nearby. They were large enough to make a good meal out of. He smelled primarily wild boar and stag. Before he could suggest anything to Inuyasha, Shippo spoke up first.

'Inuyasha I'm hungry!' the little fox whined.

Inuyasha turned around and looked at the fox, with a bored expression. He looked like he was about to say something, then stopped, and decided instead to smack the child on the head, giving him a large lump.

'SIT!'

'Ow…Kagome…why do you always have to do that?'

'Because you were being a jerk. Shippo's hungry, and so am I. We've been walking for hours. I don't care what pace you think we should keep up with, because we are stopping here.'

'Well if you weren't so weak we might even have the jewel shards back. Or maybe you might not even have broken the damned thing in the first place.'

'Sit!'

'Ow! Fine,' came Inuyasha's muffled response, face buried in the ground, 'we can stop here for a little while.'

Kagome smiled. She turned to see the rest of her friends, and noticed Inunobu walking away from the path, into a nearby forest.

'Um…Inunobu where are you going?'

'To get something to eat and bring it back,' was the demon's response.

'Hey!' Inuyasha pulled himself up from the ground. 'I do the hunting around here!'

Inunobu stared at him for a few moments, then turned back to Kagome and the others. He was certain Inuyasha would follow him anyway, so there was no reason to argue. _I would much rather just leave and find myself some food, but I doubt that these mortals can find food as fast as I can. _He remembered all of the creatures he had devoured, human, demon, and animal alike. To most demons, especially dog demons, it was considered barbaric to eat humans, and cannibalistic to eat other demons, no matter what kind. _I suppose I cannot hunt humans or demons anymore…which is a pity, humans make good food._

'What would you all want to eat? If I am going hunting I might as well find something we will all eat.'

'Wow,' Kagome said; a smile on her face, 'Inuyasha never gave me a choice before.'

'Keh, stop complaining, at least I fed you.'

Kagome sighed. She looked all Miroku, Shippo, Sango, and Kirara. 'What do you guys want?'

'I smell boar and stag,' Inunobu told them.

Shippo said stag, while Miroku and Sango wanted a boar. Kirara mewed for a stag. Kagome said she would eat whatever the others decided on. Inuyasha knew that already, of course, but he still stood stubbornly with his arms crossed. The two dog demons didn't care, as long as it was food. After the group had announced what they wanted to eat, Inunobu sighed.

'Inuyasha I suppose there is a use for you after all. You get the stag, and I will get the boar.'

'Yeah as if! I get the boar. What, just because I'm only a half demon means I can't get the tougher food?' Inuyasha looked at his older brother, half of him angry, and the other half just being difficult.

'Suit yourself, little brother, stag are faster and harder to catch.'

Inuyasha stood and looked stupidly at Inunobu. _That bastard! I bet he planned that whole thing. Well we will just see who is the better hunter. _'Fine let's go.'

The brothers walked into the forest, walking side by side until they had gone out of the range of sight of the others. Once they put a couple hundred feet between themselves and the road, Inunobu took of in a flash of demon speed, leaving Inuyasha standing.

'Showoff…' He followed suit, running in the same direction. Inunobu came in sight within a few seconds, leaping from tree to tree. Inuyasha sped up and kept pace with the older demon. 'You're not so tough are you?'

Inunobu gave a genuine grin, which surprised Inuyasha. At the next tree, Inunobu pushed off as hard as he could. Inuyasha heard the tree crack and saw his brother ahead of him in the air. Inunobu gave one last arrogant look back at his younger brother before engulfing himself in a white ball of light. As the light dissolved Inunobu, in his canine form, dropped to the forest floor and ran straight, ducking under bushes and foliage that would have been impossible to get through with his humanoid form.

'Hey that's cheating! Damn you!' Inuyasha yelled. Inuyasha could still see Inunobu, ahead of him by about fifty feet. _I swear he smiled before he transformed. I can't believe all he needed was a couple of friends to change him so much. He and father aren't so different then. _He smirked and kept going.

The wind flew past Inunobu's ears as he ran at top speed, a feeling he truly enjoyed. _I guess half breeds aren't that bad, even one as stubborn as Inuyasha. _He slowed down as the strong scent of a male boar struck him. He came to a complete stop once he though he was close enough. He transformed back to his two-legged from. Inuyasha came to a stop a few feet away.

'Smell something?'

'If your nose wasn't so weak Inuyasha you would smell it too. It's a boar.'

'Keh. I think I should tell you that the little trick you pulled right there doesn't prove anything. I can't transform at all, and you know that.'

'I don't know what you're…' another scent drifted on the wind to Inunobu. This one was a stag. _Perfect, I guess we won't have to go that far._ He crouched and looked through to a clearing to see the boar and stag standing a mere hundred feet apart. His primal nature began to call for the meal.

'Well,' Inuyasha said, 'are we going to go after them or what?'

Inuyasha waited for a response and received nothing. He looked to where Inunobu was standing, taking his attention away from the animals. He saw his brother, crouched and gazing at something that took up all of his attention. The look in his eyes was focused and deadly.

'Watch and learn, little brother.' His voice was cold.

Inunobu allowed himself one more moment to survey the situation, and then decided to strike. His eyes melted from gold into a glowing red. He crouched lower to the ground, letting out a very low growl. His fangs were bared. Inuyasha shuddered. The stag, sensing something wrong, looked to forest that masked the brothers' presence. Inunobu saw that the stag was about to flee, so there was no hesitating if he wanted food. He vanished in a blur and reappeared in front of the stag, a foot away from the now terrified animal. It turned around, ready to flee, but Inunobu was faster and raked his claws down the side of the animal, from its flank all the way to its neck.

Inuyasha watched in amazement. _That was too cruel; he could have ended the animal with a slash to the throat. Now he will just let it bleed to death. _Inuyasha was interrupted when the boar made a squeal and decided to run for it. _Damn it, I wasn't paying attention. _ He was going to lose the prey until a red light whip wrapped around one of its hind legs.

'Kill it,' commanded Inunobu.

Inuyasha became very serious. If Inunobu kept acting like this it could be a problem, no matter what Kagome thought. He swiftly jumped over to the boar, reached down, and broke its neck. It was a merciful death. The stag was dead from blood loss. Inunobu jerked his wrist, releasing his hold on the boar, the light whip snaking back to his hand. He licked the blood from his claws. Silently, both of them picked up the animals and began to return to camp.

**On the Road, Waiting for Inuyasha and Inunobu to Return**

'Hey Kagome, when are they going to be back with food? And why couldn't we just eat the food you have in your bag?' complained Shippo.

'Just be patient Shippo, they will come back with lots of food soon. Besides, the food in my bag is almost gone. Inuyasha doesn't eat anything from my era besides Ramen, and we ran out this morning. You can't live on candy and chips forever you know.'

'I could,' Shippo said enthusiastically. Kagome laughed.

'Look everyone, our food has arrived,' said a hungry Miroku.

Inuyasha walked to them first, the large boar over his shoulder. He dropped the animal in front of the group. He had an "I killed it so you cook it" expression on his face. Inunobu appeared next, with the stag. It was draped over his shoulder, the ghastly wound facing away towards the forest. He dropped in a similar fashion, the wound still not showing. He found a suitable place on the side of the road and sat down.

'Thanks,' the group said at once.

There was so much food that everyone could eat to their hearts content once it was cooked. Inuyasha could have eaten it raw, along with Kirara, Shippo, and Inunobu, but for some reason humans always cooked their food.

Ten minutes later and the cooking was underway. Kagome, who took the liberty of helping Miroku with the large boar, left the stag to Sango. Shippo wasn't really any help, but he tried to be. Sango was trying to show Shippo how to skin an animal, so they were taking longer than Kagome and Miroku. Kirara mewed with anticipation. Sango finally turned the stag over skin its other side and stopped. _What an awful wound. Inunobu said he was going to get the stag right? He did this…The animal's neck isn't broken. He let it die slowly._

'Kagome,' Sango said very quietly, 'come here a moment will you?'

'Sure Sango, what's up?'

Kagome stopped and looked at where Sango was pointing. Inunobu was against a tree, eyes closed, although he could probably still pick up bits and pieces of conversation with his highly tuned dog ears.

'Oh…that looks terrible…I…' Kagome was at a loss for words. She placed her hand on the edges of the wound and felt how deep it was.

'Kagome….he let this animal bleed to death.'

Kagome looked sadder. She put a hand to her mouth. She looked over to Inunobu, still seemingly asleep against the tree. She looked at Inuyasha, whose eyes were not closed, but looking very serious.

'I'll go talk to him.'

Kagome made her way over to Inunobu, who did not move at her approach. She sat down next to him, turning to face him. For a few moments she did not speak.

'Inunobu? Can I talk to you?'

He made no response. He remained resting against the tree, eyes closed. He was listening though, and he knew what she wanted. _It was only an animal. It is food, nothing more, nothing less. What could I possibly have done that has upset her?_

'Inunobu please, what you did to that animal…it was so cruel. You shouldn't have treated it like that. You weren't merciful at all…Please just talk to me.' She felt helpless. She glanced over at Inuyasha, and to her surprise, he was motioning for her to touch his neck. _Miroku did say that dog demons love affection. Inuyasha would know best I guess._ She placed her small hand on the side of his neck. He responded by moving his head and neck into her hand, almost asking for more comfort. He understood that whatever he had done, it had been by human standards, wrong. If he was going to spend time with humans, accommodating them would be a wise decision. She turned her wrist and allowed the back of her hand to stroke Inunobu's neck once before removing it.

'Don't…take that the wrong way…Inunobu…but you weren't answering me.'

'No, I understand. Kagome, in the short time we have known each other, you have become almost like a sister to me. Besides, I can never forgive human women for the fate that they brought upon my father.'

'Inunobu…you can't blame Inuyasha's mother…never mind…'

'Tell me, what have I done that is wrong?'

'You should have been more merciful to that stag. It didn't deserve that. It's enough that you killed it for food; you don't need to make it suffer.'

'I understand,' he said. She began to walk back to continue the preparing of the animals. 'Wait.'

'What is it Inunobu?'

'Would you allow me to sit over there…with you, Sango, and Miroku? I am a bit…lonely…over here.' _That was difficult to say._

Kagome flashed him one of her heartwarming smiles. 'Of course you can…no one ever told you to sit over here away from everyone.' He nodded then rose to a standing position. Both of them made their way over to the campfire where the boar was roasting alongside the stag. Sango had gotten some help from Inuyasha when Kagome left. He stood with his back facing the fire. He turned around when he sensed Kagome return, and was a little surprised to see his older brother walking at her side. Both sat down around the roasting meal. Kagome looked at him, her eyes begging him not to ask Inunobu about why he had suddenly decided to join them. He rolled his eyes at her.

'Ah, hello Inunobu, you have decided to join us today I see,' greeted Miroku. Shippo, who wasn't paying attention, now went silent. He just stared at the demon.

'Shippo,' Sango reprimanded, 'it is time you got over you childish fears. Inunobu isn't someone you should fear. Why don't you come over here and say hello for once.'

Shippo looked very nervous. _I know I have to get used to him, but he's still scary. _He edged his way over slowly. He came to a stop a few feet away from Inunobu, who was looking at him with a blank stare. _Not exactly the most inviting person I've ever seen._

'H-Hello…Inunobu.'

Inunobu said nothing, but took the hand that was closest to Shippo and gave him a pat on the head. He reached over to the stag and tore off a piece. He knew well that Shippo wouldn't mind if it wasn't thoroughly cooked. He handed the meat to Shippo, who looked at it hungrily. Shippo began to take small bites from the meat. Inunobu gave him another pat on the head before turning back to the rest of the group, who were all smiling at him, except Inuyasha.

'What, it's not like I never gave Shippo stuff to eat before,' the half demon yelled.

'Well,' responded Shippo between bites, 'you…were…never…nice…about it.'

'Keh.'

Sango watched Inunobu give Shippo the piece of the stag. _There's more to Inunobu than meets the eye. It must be that he never really had anyone to share anything with before, like Inuyasha before he met Kikyo. They were both lonely. Kagome told me that Inuyasha tried to attack her when he was revived. Perhaps all Inunobu needs is friends._

**Miles From Inuyasha and Friends**

_I've been walking for a while. I wonder he even knows where we are going anymore. We are going off course. This is not where the Lord asked us to scout. Our purpose was to gain information on the surrounding lands and see if they are suitable for taking. _She sighed.

'We are almost there,' said a smooth, almost oily voice.

The man walked beside her. It was almost the right time. _Soon we will strike again. It is our duty to rid the kingdom of its inadequate ruler once again. Soon. _He stopped walking, and turned to face his female companion.

'We are here.'

She looked around confused. There was nothing there besides trees. She could see the road that they were supposed to have taken to her right. The task the Lord had set forth for them was within their grasp. Why had they stopped?

'I don't understand, there's nothing here besides you and me.'

'You, me, and my scouts.' A grin spread across his face. Three shadowed forms revealed themselves. All of them wore a similar grin. _Being in a powerful office is convenient. I know the Lord's wishes. He wants to take these lands into his own, so he will surely be in the area soon to scout them for himself. He wasn't one to take another's opinion over his own. If he was ultimately going to check on this area himself, why send us? Just incompetent, there is no excuse. Getting rid of this woman will also draw his attention. The trap is almost sprung._

'What's the meaning of this? Who are these people?' Realization came into her mind. _A traitor. He took me along to get rid of me…but why? I am not that important to the kingdom…that means… I am just a distraction. The Lord will investigate my death because he trusts my father, the head of the council. _

'You intend to kill me don't you? You want to lure the Lord out here. You want to kill him. My father will insist on our Lord to look into my death, so he will linger out here longer until he has swept every inch of this place for clues, and you will leave no clues. Why?'

The man laughed evilly. 'You are very intelligent for someone so young, so I will humor you. I wish to kill the Lord so that the kingdom can be strengthened. He is never present to rule over his lands, and it makes us weak. We will kill him. The Order of the Claw will strike again.'

'The…Order of the…Claw.' She was filled with fear. That group had plotted against the Lord's father. They had caused his death, and had never been found. 'You…haven't you caused enough damage?'

He laughed again. 'We will stop when the kingdom returns to its full strength. The current bloodline is not strong enough to rule it. I will share a bit on information with you. Are you aware that we set up the battle that ultimately resulted in the end of the Lord's father? Ryuukotsusei was our doing.'

She realized her fate was sealed. She looked down in defeat. _I don't want to die. I…am afraid. But I must try to kill them. I am no coward. _She flexed her right hand, then left, and centered herself, waiting for the attack.

'Do not be afraid, we will not kill you. We will leave you for the lesser demons to devour.' He grinned malevolently as he closed in on her, with his three scouts behind him.

**With Inunobu, Inuyasha, Kagome, and Friends**

'Wow really? Tell me more!'

Shippo was fascinated with what Inunobu was telling him about the Western Lands. Inunobu told him of the elaborate ruling system of his home. The reason the Western Lands have lasted so long, according to Inunobu, was because of its system of government. They had a Lord, who was currently Sesshomaru, and under him a council. The council functioned as advisors, and while the Lord was absent, the council would rule in his place; more specifically the head of the council. He said he was not up to date, but when he left, the leader of the council was a male dog demon named Kichiro.

'The system that we use is called the Order of the Fang, which my father organized. That is why Sesshomaru, Inuyasha, and I are known as Sons of the Fang. Should both Sesshomaru and I die, Inuyasha would be able to claim the throne as rightful Lord of the Western Lands.'

Kagome was enjoying hearing about the Western Lands, but she was more enjoying hearing Inunobu talk. It was so rare that he spoke anything that was not necessary, but even less so that he spoke of something personal to him. _Inuyasha was the same way, and I bet their father was as well. It took Inuyasha a while to open up to me._

The wind picked up for a few moments, sweeping into the hair of Inunobu and Inuyasha. Both of them caught the same scent, and they turned their noses to the sky to more of the scent. Inuyasha smelled a wounded demon. It didn't smell serious, and demons fought each other constantly. Inunobu's nose was more trained than his brother's. He smelled a wounded dog demon. It was too far away to tell anything else except that there were many lesser demon scents surrounding it. It smelled sort of familiar to him. He couldn't place the scent. There was only one option, to get to the demon before the other demons did. Inunobu immediately ran in the direction of the scent.

'Inunobu where are you going?' Kagome shouted after him.

'It's all right Kagome,' Inuyasha said, 'I think he recognizes the scent of a wounded demon.'

'Then let's follow him.'

Inunobu was running fast, but he feared it was not fast enough. _Who does this scent remind me of? I can see a face in my mind…it's…a woman. Hana…the healer. But this scent smells younger, and Hana must be at least one thousand years old, if she is still alive. _He came to the same place where the man and his scouts had left the woman for dead. He couldn't see her; she was surrounded by at least one hundred lesser demons. They were bickering among themselves for who gets the meal.

'Be gone from my sight.' Inunobu shot out his deadly light whip. It flashed into the group of demons and emerged, carrying parts of the demons with it. He jumped into the middle and stood over the person whose scent had caught his attention. He did not look at her, because the lesser demons were attacking him. His claws sliced through many of them, but there were always more.

'Get out of the way if you don't want to get killed.'

Inunobu glanced for an instant at the voice. He saw Inuyasha standing behind him. The Tetsusaiga was drawn and transformed into a giant fang. Wind swirled around the blade. Inunobu understood. _I did not think Inuyasha could harness that kind of power. I underestimated him._ He slashed one more attacking demon, grabbed the person at his feet, and jumped away.

'WIND SCAR!'

A blast of yellow-golden light erupted from the Tetsusaiga as Inuyasha slammed it onto the ground. Inunobu was out of the fray just as the energy from the Wind Scar covered the demons, slaying them. Some of them dissolved completely, others left pieces behind, but they were all dead.

Inunobu surveyed the carnage that the Wind Scar had caused. He looked down in his arms to see a semi-conscious dog demoness. Her hair, a pale shade of silver, was cast in her face. It was very long, and it went all the way to her calves. It covered most of her. She was clutching at his chest, trying to go further into his arms. _She is probably still scared._ He didn't know quite what to do with her. She was out of harm's way, so it was probably safe to leave her. But he wanted to know why her scent was like Hana's.

'Thank you.'

_I guess she is more aware than I thought. _'What is your name?'

'Sayuri.'

'I will take you back so you can rest. You may do as you wish after that.'

She mumbles something inaudible as she drifted into a much needed sleep.


	9. Chapter 8: Revelation

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Inuyasha._

**Chapter 8: **

**Sunrise, Inunobu and Sayuri**

Inunobu was sitting near Sayuri as she awoke. She hadn't been sleeping for that long, probably only about half a day, which meant that her injuries weren't that serious. She opened her eyes like she was waking up from a long pleasant nap. She noticed almost immediately that the part of her clothes that was supposed to cover her breasts was replaced by bandages. They were loose and easy enough to move around in. She propped herself up on one elbow to get a better view of the camp where she had slept. There was someone there, the one who had grabbed her earlier. He smelled like a dog demon, but she was still unable to see him.

'Hello? I know you're there, I can smell you.'

Inunobu walked around her from his resting place behind her head, where she couldn't see when he heard her voice. He came into her eyesight and stared at her. She was, all things considered, the most beautiful demoness he had ever seen. He had not noticed it until she had been bandaged, and laid down to sleep. Her face was gentle, and her skin almost porcelain colored, with one blue stripe on each cheek. She had long whitish silver hair. Inunobu thought to himself that he had never seen a dog demon with another color of hair besides some shade of silver or white. Sayuri's most defining feature was her eyes. They were a cool icy blue, and they seemed to look right through him. They were not intimidating, just piercing and gorgeous. He shoulders were graceful, and her arms ended in delicate hands adorned with smaller claws. Her chest was pleasing to the eyes. She had reasonably large round breasts. Her body widened with her seductively curving hips, and shapely backside.

'I was not trying to hide myself, just giving you a little privacy.'

'Oh…I see. Was it you then who saved me, I think I recognize you from yesterday,' she asked. Inunobu nodded and stepped closer and knelt down, so that she could see him better.

'Are you all right?' Inunobu questioned, with a soft tone to his voice.

'Yes, I'm fine. They didn't kill me…they just left me for the lesser demons.'

'Who?'

'Please, let's talk about this later. Tell me you name, if it's not too much trouble.'

Inunobu hesitated. _She comes from the Western Lands. If I tell her who I am, she will definitely know of me, maybe even be afraid like the others. _He sat down next to her, trying to look less threatening.

'I am Inunobu.'

'Inu…Inunobu?' She had heard so many stories of this demon. Born from the Shikon no Tama, he was wilder than the others. He had killed many. _He disappeared nearly 200 years ago. Many thought he was dead. _She stopped thinking about the savage demon of legend when she saw the sad look in his eyes, which were fixed on her.'

'I would not be surprised if you are afraid…it would not be the first time.'

'What happened to you? Why did you leave?'

'I saw no need to stay after my father's…death.'

He dropped his head a bit. She was amazed at the show of emotion in his eyes and his movements. _This couldn't possibly be the same demon. He's not cold at all. It's more like he's…lonely._ She sat up fully and moved closer to him, to get a better look at his face, since he had turned it away.

'Just forget it. Some of the stories that I have heard are probably wrong. I mean, you couldn't possibly have killed a healing assistant at-'

'Three weeks old. That is the truth.'

'Oh…I'm sorry…'

His eyes took on a more serious, focused stare. _She is on the verge of being afraid, I can feel it. She is completely unsure of my motives, and it doesn't help that the others are at the river_

'It's ok, you won't hurt me,' she coaxed. His eyes widened slightly as he took up her stare again. 'Even if you are the same Inunobu that people talk about, you've changed, I'm very young and even I can tell you aren't that bad.'

'I…,' he was going to say something along the lines of "that meant a lot to me" but he changed the subject to something else. 'How old are you?'

'Only one hundred and thirteen.'

'Your scent reminds me of someone, a healer named Hana.'

'She is my aunt.'

'Why didn't you defend yourself against the people that hurt you? When I was in the Western Lands, all dog demons knew how to fight when they were at least seventy five.'

'They were much too skilled. I didn't have a chance unarmed against four opponents.'

'Who hurt you?' There was almost genuine concern in his voice, but he was very calm.

'He was a former leader of the council who was demoted to the position of Lord Sesshomaru's personal attendant. His name is Kichiro.'

'Kichiro! Are you certain?' _Father despised him and Kichiro knew it. Kichiro thought father to be a weak and inadequate ruler. He believed it took more than strength on the battlefield to rule a nation._

'Yes, it was him, but what was worse was that he called himself and his followers the Order of the Claw.'

'I am not familiar with them, who are they?'

'Oh of course, you left the kingdom before they…they…' She was at a loss. How was she supposed to tell the son of Inu no Taisho that his father's death was planned by this organization? He would take it very badly.

'They what?' he persisted, seeming a little annoyed.

'Lord Inunobu-'

'Inunobu is fine; there is no need for titles here.'

'Inunobu then… This is difficult to say, and no doubt harder to listen to, but the Order of the Claw is the group of people that…planned to do away with…your father. Ryuukotsusei was their doing.'

Inunobu sat dumbfounded. He said nothing. _They killed…Kichiro…killed…and I never knew… Sesshomaru must have known, and he didn't tell me. Why is Kichiro still alive? _At last he finally spoke.

'Why…didn't my brother…kill him?'

'Lord Sesshomaru did everything in his power to try to take his life. Kichiro is very good at hiding himself. He found ways out of Sesshomaru's grasp. Not even the Lord himself could find any clues to link Kichiro to the death of your father. There were other matters to attend to that required his full attention.'

'Taking revenge for a father's death is more important than any kingdom!' Inunobu was extremely angry. He smashed his fist into the ground, cracking it in many directions. He was fighting to control himself. His teeth were gritted, and both hands were balled into fists. He was shaking, and his eyes were closed.

Sayuri watched him the whole time. _He has a hard time keeping his anger in check. This is probably the Inunobu that the stories speak of. I need to calm him down for his own sake, as well as for mine. _Sayuri put a reassuring hand on the angry demon's back. He let out a loud breath and shuddered. He opened his eyes to reveal a fading red glow. It was a few minutes before Sayuri removed her hand and shifted her position to look at him. He was calm, and his expression was one of determination. He stood up slowly.

'Sayuri, the rest of the group is coming back now, I can smell them. I must have a word with my brother; they are probably planning to kill him as well. Although am not fond of him, the Western Lands will be thrown into disorder if he is slain. He should be made aware.'

Sayuri nodded as she saw him bound off into the distance. Sesshomaru would not be far off anyway, because he wanted to survey these lands. The beautiful demoness rose and decided that she would stay with these people, at least until Inunobu came back.

**With Sesshomaru, Rin, and Jaken**

'Lord Sesshomaru, may we stop and rest for a while, I am tired.'

'No you fool, Lord Sesshomaru has many things to attend to and making sure a young girl is comfortable is not one of them!'

'Very well, you may rest. Wait here for me to return.' _It is not normal for Inunobu to come to me. The only other time he has done that was to learn of the circumstances of our father's death._

Sesshomaru continued walking in the direction of Inunobu's scent. He walked for another five minutes before coming to a stop. He could see Inunobu in the distance. He looked angry. It wasn't his typical bloodlust, but something that ran much deeper.

'Sesshomaru,' Inunobu growled.

'What is your purpose for coming here Inunobu?'

'You are a coward.'

'Excuse me?' Before Sesshomaru could respond any further, Inunobu appeared with a clenched fist, inches from his brother, and delivered a blow to Sesshomaru's face. Sesshomaru hadn't seen it coming. He was mildly surprised as he pulled his head back to its original position and stretched his neck.

'What called for that little brother?'

'You did not kill him you coward. You failed as an honorable demon and you defile our father's memory. Kichiro lives.'

Sesshomaru was more than just a little angry at his brother's comments, but he kept calm. 'I am well aware that he still lives. He made it impossible for me to kill him without destroying our family's reputation. I had no choice in the matter. Do you think that snake would have lived I could have ended him?'

'Regardless, I have a way to trap him now. He tried to kill someone and failed. This person knows of his plans to take the kingdom, and to kill you.'

'Oh? And who might that person be?'

'Sayuri.'

_Inunobu is not lying. There is no possible way that he could have known about Sayuri without meeting her or returning to the Western Lands. Since I doubt that he returned, he must have met her._

'I believe you are telling the truth, little brother. Tell me what it is you want me to know and be gone.'

Inunobu was not expecting Sesshomaru to give in so easily. He had no witty comments, no sarcasm. He was asking Inunobu in a straightforward manner, like an equal. _Very well, I could use Sesshomaru's strength if I am to avenge father's death._

'I know only what Sayuri has told me. The Order of the Claw has returned, and Kichiro is their leader, as she says he always was. They plan to lure you to them and destroy you. He is underhanded and deceitful, and requires more caution.'

'Inunobu, I have dealt with underhanded demons before. I believe you are familiar with Naraku?'

'Yes, but I killed Naraku, not you. It makes me doubt your abilities.'

'I am grateful for the warning, although I could have done without the fist to the face. Be gone, your usefulness has ended.

Inunobu glared at him. He was as arrogant as ever. He was about to say something else, when a small girl, dressed in an orange and white kimono came from her hiding spot and stood next to Sesshomaru. The girl looked lovingly at Sesshomaru, then with curiosity at Inunobu. Inunobu flashed Sesshomaru an arrogant taunting smile and walked away.

**With Sayuri**

Sayuri sat across from the Kagome, Inuyasha, Miroku, and Sango. Shippo and Kirara were sleeping peacefully. The demoness was very friendly. She didn't mind answering all of the questions that everyone asked her. She thought some of them were obvious. She waited for Inunobu to get back from his meeting with Sesshomaru. Sayuri couldn't understand why, but she felt drawn to the demon.

'So Sayuri,' Kagome prodded once they were alone, 'I bet you get tons of suitors back home.'

Sayuri blushed a little. 'Well, I guess so. But I can't accept any of their offers because of my father.'

'Yes you told me he was very important. Hey I haven't taken a bath in forever, why don't we continue our conversation there.'

'Well…ok. I guess I guess being a little cleaner never hurt anyone.' She laughed a little.

'Let's go back to the camp first and get Sango; she might feel left out if we went without her. I think I saw a hot spring a little walk off.'

Both of them walked back to the camp. Sayuri looked a bit confused when she saw the monk lying on his back with a pink handprint on his face. Sango readily agreed to go with them, anything to get her away from Miroku. Sayuri turned to walk to where she smelled the hot spring. As soon she turned around she felt a hand massaging the back of her thigh. She jolted straight up and whipped around to see a stoic Miroku, groping her.

'Excuse me…what are you…doing?'

'My lady, you are so beautiful, I was wondering if you would bear my child.'

'Heh..heh..really? Well I'm sorry but I must decline your _polite_ offer.' Sayuri quickly swatted Miroku's hand away from her.

'Why you PERVERT!'

Sayuri turned to see and enraged Sango running straight at Miroku. Miroku looked terrified as he tried to flee. He got a few feet before Sango had a hold on her hiraikotsu and smashed him in the face. He fell over, unconscious. 'Miroku! She's not even the same species and you still grope her. Do I have to watch Kirara around you? What? Would you try something on her too?' She smacked him again for good measure. 'Let's go.'

'That's what you get Miroku,' taunted Inuyasha.

**The Hot Springs**

'Well shall we go in,' asked a cheerful Sango, whose mood had lightened after they she left Miroku half dead on the dirt.

'Yeah let's go,' responded an equally cheerful Kagome.

Both Kagome and Sango were undressed and in the hot spring before Sayuri had made a move. She looked a little shy. She began by removing her shoes. She placed them neatly over in a corner.

'Um…Sayuri…what's the matter?'

'It's nothing…I'm just not used to undressing in front of anyone is all.'

'Oh it'll be fine Sayuri. Besides,' Kagome said smirking, 'you don't have anything we haven't seen before.'

Sayuri blushed. She removed her clothes, which came in two parts so it was easier for her to move in, since she had been traveling. It was light blue to match her eyes, though her eyes were still a paler piercing blue, which her clothes could not match. She removed her shirt first, then modestly covered herself with the shirt before removing the clothes that were draped over her lower body. She dipped into the springs and shivered as the hot water rushed around her.

'See? That wasn't so bad was it?'

Sayuri smiled. 'No.' Then her smile faded. 'I…didn't tell you something. I didn't know how Inuyasha would respond, being the third son of Inu no Taisho. I know who really planned his father's death. It was the same person who tried to have me killed.'

'Sayuri, don't worry about it. Have you told Inunobu about this?'

'Yes, he didn't take it well. That's why he isn't here. He went off to have a "conversation" with Sesshomaru.'

'Oh no…he's not going to fight again is he?'

'I don't think he wanted fight him. He was angry with Sesshomaru but he seems to understand Sesshomaru could not fix it at the time it happened. I think right now they have a common enemy.'

'That's good. If you told Inunobu then he will tell Inuyasha himself. In fact he probably prefers it that way. Now enough serious talk; tell me, do you have a boyfriend back home?'

'Kagome,' Sango said, 'that's a bit personal don't you think.'

'I don't know what that is, this "boyfriend".'

'Oh, sorry, that's a term that we use where I come from. It means…kind of like a future husband…no that's a bad example. It's like a lover but less serious. Some special guy you spend your time with. Like Sango and Miroku.'

'Kagome!' Sango yelled, blushing furiously.

'No…I don't,' Sayuri answered. 'Maybe it's just me, but all of the male dog demons I've seen are all the same. They all try to show off or claim me as their own.'

'Tell me about it,' Kagome stated dryly, 'I have problems like that of my own with a certain wolf demon tribe leader.' _Koga._

'Alright it's my turn for a question,' Sayuri grinned, 'when are you and the half demon going to become mates? I see you both staring at each other all the time.' _Aha! Trapped in your own game Kagome, trapped in your own game. _She grinned mischievously to herself when Kagome turned a dark shade of crimson.

'All right…I think I'm…done for today. I'm just going to head back to camp… Sango you coming with me?' Kagome asked.

'Sure Kagome.'

'You guys go ahead, I'm still a little sore,' Sayuri replied.

Sayuri watched both of them leave. Once they were both out of sight, Sayuri jumped out of the hot spring and walked over to an herb that she knew was an excellent cleaner, like a makeshift soap. She returned to the spring and reentered it, not sitting down this time. She crushed the herb in her hands, using her claws to release some of the liquid inside the leaves. She scrubbed herself vigorously, making sure that she washed everything. She let her thoughts drift until she was aware of someone else watching her. She whirled around to find no one. She could only sense this person, because there was no scent, sound, or sight to be found.

**With Inunobu**

Inunobu looked at Sayuri from a distance. She was bathing herself, and was fully exposed in the air. Inunobu averted his eyes when he first saw her, but his instincts got the better of him. He felt more alone than ever. _I am being a fool. To the demons in the Western Land I am no more than a beast. _He walked off in the direction of the others, which was the same time Sayuri looked for her silent watcher. Inunobu heard the splashing of water and knew that Sayuri was getting out of the spring. He walked slower than usual, and was deep in thought. He was concerned about how he was going to avenge his father's death, telling Inuyasha about Kichiro, and trying to understand himself.

Sayuri was closing the distance between herself and Inunobu. Inunobu stopped when he caught her scent. It was a delicate smell that played with his nose.

'Inunobu, how did it go?' She was talking about the meeting with Sesshomaru. She also had a nagging suspicion that her observer was Inunobu, who happened to come across the hot springs on his way back to camp.

'Uneventful, the only thing my brother didn't know was that Kichiro was planning to kill him soon.'

'Oh…did you see anything else on your journey?'

_You. _'No.'

Sayuri fell silent. Inunobu wasn't like the typical male dog demon. She had told herself for a long time that she had wanted different, but she wasn't sure she liked it. What would it be like having a mate she wondered. All dog demons were expected to have mates at some point in their life. She looked at Inunobu walking beside her with his distant eyes. She felt an undeniable urge come into her. She reached with her hand and stroked one of his ears. Immediately he stopped walking. He turned his eyes to her for an instant, his expression unreadable. He grasped the back of her hand in his palm and removed it gently from his head. He held her hand for a few seconds before continuing the walk back to camp.

Sayuri stood behind where he had left her. _I don't know what he was trying to tell me. He didn't seem to reject it. I wish he wasn't so hard to read! _She waited for a few more minutes before following Inunobu.

A/N: Review! If there's something you don't like tell me and I will take it into account as I continue writing.


	10. Chapter 9: Instinct

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Inuyasha._

**Chapter 9: Instinct**

**With Inuyasha and Inunobu, Away from the Others**

Inuyasha caught the scent of Inunobu approaching him long before he could hear or see him. His scent was tinged with anger and vengeance. Inuyasha knew that whoever Inunobu was angry at, it wasn't him, because he hadn't done anything. Within the span of minutes he could hear Inunobu's footsteps, and they were slower and heavier than usual. Something was bothering him. Finally he could see his older brother walking from the direction of the hot springs. A few more minutes passed and the two brothers were facing each other.

'What do you want Inunobu?'

'There is something I wish to speak to you about Inuyasha, and it concerns out father.'

Inuyasha became immediately interested. _Maybe there was something important about father that he left out, and getting knowledge about father was the only reason I let him stick around in the first place. _'Well don't just stand there spit it out.'

Inunobu waited for a few moments, gathering his thoughts. 'Inuyasha, there is something important that you must know about the circumstances of our father's death. I found out myself only a short while ago. Father's death, or the event that led to his death, the battle with the dragon demon Ryuukotsusei, was orchestrated by a group of disloyal dog demons who called themselves the Order of the Claw.'

'That's it? What good does that do me?'

'Patience little brother. Their leader, Kichiro, still lives, and he is the demon that injured Sayuri. Father can be avenged if Kichiro and the other members of the Order of the Claw are destroyed. His current plans are to assassinate our older brother, Sesshomaru, and take the kingdom for himself.'

'How many times do I have to say that I don't care about avenging his death? I didn't even know him! And who cares if Sesshomaru dies?'

_How dare he? I have no words to express this. He is betraying his own bloodline! Father gave him a precious gift, the Tetsusaiga, and he refuses to avenge him? I…what an ungrateful fool. _

Inunobu was fast losing his temper.

'Inuyasha,' he said in a low and hostile tone, 'You refuse to avenge your own family. You betray our father. You have the nerve to ask me about our father, saying that you wanted to know anything! You would turn your back on the most important piece of information I have given you?'

Inuyasha looked at his brother, whose lip was curled in anger. _Who cares if Sesshomaru dies? It's not like it hurts me any. Besides, I doubt anyone could kill Sesshomaru. It really doesn't make a difference to me. Maybe if I had known my father…_

'I…Look! I didn't even know him! You expect me to stick out my neck for a bunch of stories I've heard from others?'

'You filthy half breed. He died for you and Izayoi. HE DIED FOR YOU!' Inunobu was at Inuyasha throat in an instant, knocking him over and pinning him to the ground. Inuyasha looked stunned for a second before throwing Inunobu off of him.

'What the hell are you doing? What did I do to you? It's my choice to help avenge father or not. I have people that I have to protect, and they would be in harm's way if I did this.'

Inunobu had an enraged look in his eyes. Inuyasha could tell he was inches from losing control. _Damn it all he has to learn to control that, especially with Kagome nearby. I'll have to lead him away._ Inuyasha made a run for it.

'You flee from me you coward!' Inunobu ran after him.

Sayuri, who was standing around and talking with Kagome and Shippo, noticed a change in the air. It was Inunobu's scent, and it smelled different. It was almost stronger. It was laced with fury. _Something's happened to him. He went to talk to Inuyasha about their father, which means something that Inuyasha said upset him._

'Kagome,' the demoness said to get the girl's attention.

'Yeah what is it?'

'We may have a problem.'

As she finished her statement two blurs flew past where the group was standing, one in red and the other in white. Inunobu looked angry, but was keeping his anger under control for the time being, releasing it on Inuyasha, who was doing his best to avoid fighting the demon. Inuyasha swung his fists every now and then to keep his older brother on edge. Inuyasha threw a fist at him to make sure he kept his attention on Inuyasha and not on the others, which was a mistake because it left the half demon wide open. Inunobu took his chance and slugged him in the gut. Inuyasha made a grunting noise. Inunobu took advantage of the situation again and wrapped his free hand around Inuyasha's neck and lifting him into the air.

'Both of you STOP!' Kagome screamed. Inunobu turned to look at her, the anger in his eyes subsiding a little. 'I can't leave you two alone for a minute! What happened?'

'Nothing, Inunobu just went completely-' Inuyasha was cut off as Inunobu squeezed his throat harder.

'This wretched half breed refuses to avenge his father's death.'

'But…Inuyasha already avenged him, Ryuukotsusei is dead,' though Miroku out loud.

'Ryuukotsusei was not the one who organized the fight. The one who did still lives, and Inuyasha defiles his father's memory.'

Inuyasha, who was now looking a bit pale, seemed to be struggling to lose consciousness. Inunobu was distracted by Kagome and did not loosen his grip. Inuyasha's arms, which were trying to remove Inunobu's hand from his neck, went slack at the half demon's side.

'Inunobu let Inuyasha go your killing him!' Kagome pleaded.

Inunobu looked at her, then to Inuyasha, who had gone unconscious, and dropped him to the ground. Kagome rushed over to him to make sure he was not dead. Inunobu stood and gazed with disgust at his younger brother, his hands clenched. _How can you refuse to avenge your own family Inuyasha? Even Sesshomaru is willing to work with me on this. There are four of them, and two of us; we are still outnumbered._

_I can tell Inunobu's father is a soft spot for him _Sayuri thought. She felt helpless, and so did Miroku, Sango, and Shippo. What could they do? Inuyasha and Inunobu's father was their business. Who knew whether it was appropriate for them to intervene according to demon customs? Sayuri decided she had to do something. She walked slowly over to Inunobu and stared at him until he returned her gaze. Her eyes were soft and understanding. His anger seemed to drain away. His fists unclenched.

'Thank you,' he murmured to her. She smiled gently at him, then turned to see whether Inuyasha was all right. He was conscious and looked annoyed.

'Kagome I'm fine stop trying to-'

'No, you're not fine until I have a look at you!'

'Would you just leave me alone…I said I was all right.'

'SIT.' Inuyasha fell against the ground, bound by the beads. Kagome used this as an opportunity to check on his neck and see if there were any problems with it. 'Ok Inuyasha you're fine.'

'I told you that…' His gaze shifted over to his brother, who was staring at Sayuri, which seemed to calm him. He stood up.

'Inuyasha don't say anything. I swear sometimes you can be such a fool,' reprimanded Miroku. 'Inunobu,' he spoke up, addressing the older brother, 'even if Inuyasha is unwilling to go after whoever you say is responsible for your fathers death, I am sure that if you ask us we will help you as _friends_,' he said the last word with emphasis, glaring at Inuyasha.

'I will not ask for help. Inuyasha is obliged to avenge his own father.'

'I _told _you, I never even knew-' the half demon began.

'Sit. We will all help you Inunobu because you are our friend. Inuyasha doesn't have a say in the matter.'

'WHAT? But he was my father! How can I not have a choice if its my-'

'SIT! Will you accept our help Inunobu?'

Inunobu did not answer. _What good is the help of a son who doesn't care? I should go kill Kichiro on my own right now…Sesshomaru will catch up with me. Kichiro and his men could not be that strong. _He looked at Kagome asking him for help, then down at Inuyasha. _Is it noble to accept their help? _Inunobu turned his gaze on Sayuri; the demoness still looking at him. He took a deep breath. _How does she do that?_

'I accept.'

**Three Weeks Later**

Three weeks after the quarrel between Inunobu and Inuyasha ended, there was no sign of Kichiro. Inunobu had spoken to Sesshomaru four times, and each time he spoke with the demon it seemed another important dog demon had been killed. Kichiro would not show his face until he was ready to strike, and that all depended on where the Lord of the Western Lands was at the time. It could be days or years, and everyone understood that. The search had slacked off a little, and the only trace of the Order of the Claw that had appeared was one of Kichiro's men, who ran as soon as he was spotted. Sayuri had started to walk at Inunobu's side; mostly because she could talk to Inunobu about her homeland, which she missed, but also because her presence always seemed to sooth the demon. Sesshomaru had informed Inunobu that it was not safe for Sayuri to return to the Western Lands, because Kichiro would be able to use her to get to her father.

Kagome looked behind her to see Inunobu and Sayuri talking; actually it was Sayuri doing the talking. Inunobu listened and replied when she was completely finished. In the few days after Inuyasha had flat out refused to avenge Inu no Taisho, Inunobu was very ill tempered. Not in a violent way, but more like Sesshomaru talked to Inuyasha before they fought with each other. _You know, now that I think about it, Inunobu calmed down a lot. Sayuri is a kinder demon than most. They don't really talk about anything important, but I don't think it matters._

'Hey Inuyasha,' Kagome said, 'what do you say we stop here for a while.'

'We…just…stopped…an…hour…ago,' Inuyasha managed to squeeze out through gritted teeth.

'Yeah I know, but I want to talk to Sayuri about something.'

'So do it.'

'In private…'

Inuyasha complained in a low voice to himself. 'Fine but only for a little while, and I'm not getting you any food.'

'Thanks Inuyasha.'

'Whatever.'

The others besides Inuyasha and Kagome were confused as to why they stopped so soon. Inunobu found a nice spot on the side of the path and sat on the ground. Sayuri was about to walk over and join him when Kagome caught her attention.

'Sayuri, come with me for a while will you?'

'Oh…um…all right.' She looked once more at Inunobu before leaving with Kagome.

The two women walked away from the group and Kagome motioned for them to sit down. Kagome thought to herself about the best way to approach this. _Hmm, I don't want to make her feel uncomfortable, but the suspense is killing me._

'So…Sayuri?'

'Mmm Hmm?'

'You have been hanging around Inunobu a lot lately.'

'Yeah…I guess so.'

Sayuri grew to know more of Inunobu that the others. She could see his subtle facial expressions better than most, and she knew what they meant. He really wasn't unreadable; it just took a little time to get accustomed to. _Why do I stay around him so often? He knows more about our homeland than Inuyasha does, but most of the time we don't talk at all._

'Sayuri…what's the matter.' _I know exactly what the matter is…but let's see if she understands._

'I…nothing, why do you ask?' _I know what you're getting at Kagome, I'm just not really sure, so I can't answer you. _

'I can tell you're thinking about something, and I haven't had the chance to really talk to you in two and a half weeks. You can open up to me.'

_Kagome is treating me like a little girl. Then again…I am so young. I am just a little girl. I haven't had many life experiences worth talking about. Humans seem to get so much more out of each year of life than demons do; maybe that's because their lives are so short._

'I…it's just…Kagome I don't think I want to talk right now. Is that a problem?'

'Nope not at all. Just tell me something when you figure it out.'

Sayuri smiled. They started to walk back to where they left the others on the path. The closer they came the easier it was to make out the form of Inunobu standing over Inuyasha, stomping on the middle of his back vigorously. He looked more bored than angry. Kagome wore an expression that said "why me?"

'I swear, the two of you….Inunobu, would you be so kind as to NOT kick Inuyasha,' Kagome said impatiently. Inunobu reluctantly stopped stomping on the half demon.

'Inuyasha,' Kagome continued, 'stand up.' Inuyasha stood up. 'Sit.' Thud. 'What were the two of you arguing about?'

'I didn't say nothing! All I did was _suggest_ that we should give up on finding Kichiro, and then Inunobu over here starts stepping on me. I didn't fight back because I thought he would maybe stop eventually, but I guess he got a little too much fun out of it.'

'Maybe if you used you brain for once Inu- OW!' complained Shippo, whom Inuyasha had just smacked on the head.

Miroku was eyeing Sango the entire time, but she moved further away to get ready to leave again. Miroku was at a loss. _She will definitely see me coming now. _He looked over to the rest of the group, the closest target being Sayuri. _Not bad._ He casually strode up to her and caressed her backside. She jolted up, not used to the monks hand like the demon slayer was. Sango, who had come over when she saw what Miroku was doing, and looking at the look of hatred Inunobu shot the monk, smashed Miroku on the head before any more harm could be done. She knelt down to whisper in his ear.

'Miroku are you trying to get yourself killed?'

'Sango, it is the hand, and besides Sayuri would not harm me.'

'It's not Sayuri who I'm worried about.'

'What do you mean my dear- Oh.' Miroku noticed the look in Inunobu's eyes for the first time. _So he does care for Sayuri._

_How can he touch her like that? Perverted monk. Why do I have this reaction though? Is it possible…?_ Inunobu walked over to Miroku, who was still on the ground, towering over him.

'Never again monk.'

'Of course…Forgive me Inunobu I did not realize that you-'

'Silence!'

Miroku went quiet. He did not want to anger the demon further, knowing how vulnerable he was to his temper. He watched Sayuri hurriedly get away from the range of the monk, standing just to the right and behind Inunobu, who was still glaring at Miroku. She placed one of her small hands in his, giving it a light squeeze.

'Just forget about it Inunobu I'm fine and Miroku won't do it again. You should try to be less angry sometimes, it doesn't do you any good to have all that anger.'

Inunobu's anger completely vanished as it did before. _Damn it, I will find out how she does that. _He gently pressed her smaller hand into her own, almost caressing it, before letting it go. The gesture was enough to make Sayuri's heart beat just a little bit faster.

A few minutes later they were back on the road. Miroku stayed a bit quieter than usual, and Kagome stayed up front with Inuyasha. Shippo was sleeping lazily on Kirara in her transformed state. Sayuri and Inunobu walked together, like before.

'Sayuri?' Inunobu asked very softly.

'Hmm?'

'How did you do that?'

'Do what?'

'You took away my anger, it was almost peaceful. How?' Inunobu questioned. Sayuri laughed softly.

'Like this.' Sayuri grabbed one of his hands that were swaying by his sides and held the tips of his fingers in her hand. She looked up after she had let go, and was surprised to see Inunobu looking at her, with a softer gaze. She held his stare for a few seconds before averting her eyes, blushing lightly, too light to notice to anyone but herself as she felt her cheeks go warmer.

**Another Week Later**

Yet another week passed without any evidence of Kichiro. Currently the group battled a monkey demon. The demon was fast and but not strong. In fact, it rarely attacked, but just jumped around from tree to tree.

'Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!' Inuyasha lunged at the demon with his claws only to hit air again. 'Damn him!'

Inunobu was also having trouble hitting the monkey. He jumped to where he thought the demon would land, only to see it go else where. It didn't seem to have any actual plan, and it jumped wherever it thought was best. Inunobu was successfully following it in the trees, but landing a blow was another matter entirely. _Curse this stupid demon_ Inunobu thought _all it does is take up my time. I would gladly end its life it would only stay still. It hasn't even attacked in the last ten minutes._

'I don't have time for this. Everyone get down,' Inunobu warned as he spun his light whip in a very large circle, slicing through the trunks of the trees. The monkey demon landed in front of Inunobu, now aware that he had no where left to jump.

'Now it is finally time for you to die monkey.'

'Yeah right! I get to kill it!' Inuyasha yelled.

'I don't believe this,' Kagome screamed, 'you're going to fight over who gets to kill it. It's right there! It's open and exposed and you're arguing.'

Inunobu and Inuyasha turned to face each other and glared. Inuyasha started to yell at his older brother, while Inunobu stood, arms crossed and arrogant.

'I will kill both of you! Don't underestimate my power,' hissed the monkey demon. He ran full speed at the dog brothers, who were still arguing. Inuyasha look away from his brother just long enough to see the monkey demon racing at them. _Damn it, Tetsusaiga is in its sheath, and I won't have enough time to draw it out._ Inunobu followed his gaze a split second later. The monkey was too close to evade.

Sayuri watched the entire thing in silence. _They are bickering while their enemy is still alive? I guess they get along even worse than I imagined. This must be the same way with Inuyasha and Sesshomaru._ She saw the monkey rush at them, and decided that she had to act.

Inunobu and Inuyasha were prepared to take the small hit from the demon until they both saw Sayuri dash out of the corner of their eyes and land on the monkey's shoulder. The demon stopped running and attempted to strike her down. She dodged the first strike, while still on its shoulder, then drove her claws into the demon's shoulder. She was struck with the monkey's second attack in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her and throwing her off of its shoulder. She landed gracefully on her feet, clutching her stomach gently.

'Sayuri.' Inunobu allowed her name to escape his lips. _What in hell was the point of that? This demon doesn't even hurt. She put herself in harm's way to save Inuyasha and myself a little discomfort? _Inunobu strode steadily across the battlefield towards Sayuri, passing the monkey demon by mere inches.

'Inunobu you fool what are you doing?' Inuyasha shouted as his brother walked close enough to the monkey for it to strike him.

'Are you blind Inuyasha, this demon is already dead.'

'What? Are you crazy, he's still standing up!'

In response, Inunobu gave the monkey demon a light push and toppled it over. Its eyes were glazed and it was not breathing. Inunobu continued walking over to Sayuri, talking back over his shoulder.'

'I would have imagined that you would know this Inuyasha, but apparently I was mistaken. Female dog demon poison is extremely potent; more deadly than anything I or Sesshomaru have. Females' poison is strong so they can compensate for the lack of strength and a light whip, like mine.'

'That's a scary thought,' Shippo commented, 'I've seen Sesshomaru's poison at work on Inuyasha, and he didn't get up for a good few days.'

Inunobu had ignored Shippo and had reached Sayuri. She was kneeling on one knee, trying to get her breath back. She waved him off to say she was ok. He stepped in front of her and crouched down so they were eye to eye.

'Sayuri.'

'What is it,' her voice was strained from the loss of breath.

'Why did you do that, a hit from that demon would have done absolutely nothing to me, and you know that.'

'Well it was better than letting it hit you!'

'But it struck you instead. I've been wounded many more times than you, I can handle it better. Don't do that again,' he said more tenderly. He wrapped an arm around her waist, and took one arm in the other to help her up. Sayuri looked surprised. Inunobu did not usually touch her.

Sango the demon slayer was about to check on Sayuri herself until she saw Inunobu. _Inunobu behaves so differently than any other demon I have ever encountered. He acts bloodthirsty and cruel one minute but the next he is so gentle, though still cold._ _It must be the jewels influence on him._ She watched Inunobu lead Sayuri away from the dead monkey demon. Sango noticed that Sayuri still allowed him to support her. _Getting the wind knocked out of you is only momentary, which means she doesn't want him to let go. _Sango glanced over to Kagome, who had that dreamy look in her eyes.

'Kagome, I hope you're not planning anything.'

'Who me? Not at all Sango why do you ask,' she replied innocently. Sango sighed.

**In a Village, Night Time**

The traveling group stood in front of a village inn, asking for lodging and food. They had no money, as usual, but Miroku sensed a "dangerous" presence lurking within the mansion, so the innkeeper was eager to let them stay. Inunobu however, along with Sayuri, were a little uneasy. The villagers did not look kindly upon the two dog demons staying there. They gave Inuyasha the same looks, but he was used to it by now.

'Inuyasha,' Inunobu said as the group was about to enter the inn for Miroku to perform his fake exorcism, 'I'm sleeping out here, I prefer it anyway.'

'Whatever,' Inuyasha responded casually. Kagome watched Inunobu walk away. She looked at Sayuri, who was looking at Inunobu. _Ok Kagome, you can do this _she thought to herself.

'Sayuri.'

'Yeah Kagome.'

'You know, you're a demon too, don't you want to leave too.'

'Would…that be alright? I thought maybe Inunobu prefers to be alone.'

'You'd be surprised.'

'Ok then, see you in the morning Kagome.' Sayuri ran off after Inunobu.

She followed Inunobu's scent to a patch of tall lush grass. He was lying down, arms behind his head, looking at the sky. She walked up slowly, making sure if he wasn't paying attention to his senses, that she wouldn't startle him. She didn't have to worry, because he knew she was coming as soon as she started leaving the village.

'The inn is warmer you know.'

'The humans in that village don't think too much of demons. I didn't like being stared at all the time is all. Do you mind if I join you?'

'No, its fine.'

Sayuri seated herself in a place to the right of Inunobu. He sat up and sniffed the air. The only smell that he could pick up was the scent of Sayuri and grass. If someone tried to sneak up on him, he would not see it coming until much later.

'You seem a little restless, what's the matter.'

'Its…nothing,' she said. _Why did I come here…what am I expecting? I'm really not taking Inunobu's feelings into account. I don't know what he's thinking half the time._ _I just want to help him. He seems so lonely. He doesn't really have any "loving family"; Sesshomaru and Inuyasha hardly count for anything. I guess I'll just ask him._

'Inunobu, I want to ask you something, you don't have to answer if you don't want to. I just want to know why you're so sad, it's hard to look at it all the time, especially in such a cheerful crowd as the one we travel with.' _Except Inuyasha, who's just irritable. _She heard him exhale deeply, and his shoulders sank a little. 'I'm sorry if I made you remember anything terrible.'

'No, it's all right. The truth is, I don't really know. It goes deeper than not having a devoted father or two distant brothers. I…think I'm just…' He stopped talking, not knowing what to say.

'You're just lonely. I think two hundred years alone will do that for you. How often did you get to see your father when he was alive?'

'Once every couple of years if I was lucky, but demons live for a long time, so it didn't make that much of a difference.'

Sayuri smiled softly at this comment. Her father was head of the council that advised the Order of the Fang. She knew all too well what it felt like to have her father rarely be around when she needed someone to talk to. She had a few close friends, but Inunobu probably only had his brother, which was definitely not helpful. Sayuri felt empathy for Inunobu, something that not many were capable of. She had an unusually large heart for a demoness. _He's not a savage at all like the stories say. He just isn't well understood._

Sayuri turned to look at Inunobu once more before resting her head on his shoulder. Inunobu smiled lightly, and traced the line of her jaw with one claw without really thinking. She let out a shuddering breath, and turned her head more into his hand. Her pale and smooth neck was left exposed in the moonlight, and instincts won over Inunobu's mind. He gently put his fangs to the side of her neck, and she froze for an instant before leaning into him. One of her hands rested on the side of Inunobu's face. He bit her neck a little harder, not drawing any blood, and she made a light moan. Both of them sank into the grass. Sayuri draped herself over Inunobu and he pulled his fangs from her soft neck. She looked at his eyes for a few moments before placing a light, loving kiss on his lips, which he returned. They continued to kiss, and Sayuri allowed him to bite her every now and then.

Her mind and heart were racing. _He bit me…I…I don't even know what to think. He is so gentle with me. Can I really love him? My body and heart agree, but my mind is…unsure. I can't say no to this though, I've never felt anything like it._

Inunobu was feeling the same way. _What am I doing? I am being consumed by this feeling. This feels so natural. I'm so sorry Sayuri, but I need to think to myself._ Inunobu slowly and reluctantly pulled Sayuri off of him. He sat up, bringing her with him. He embraced her, taking in her scent as much as he could. Her scent betrayed her feelings of excitement and arousal, even happiness. 'Sayuri, I'm sorry, but I just need to think.' He withdrew her from his embrace and kissed her once more before running in another direction. She watched him go, still in a daze. _I think I need to think too._

A/N: Keep reading…and review. Review for the love of all that is Inuyasha, review!


	11. Chapter 10: Calm Before the Storm

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Inuyasha._

**Chapter 10: A Pledge, and the Calm Before the Storm**

**With Inunobu, Away From Sayuri**

Inunobu came to a stop when he thought he was out of range of everyone. He sat on the cold ground and put his hand to his head. _This can't happen. I have a duty to my father to avenge him, and emotion cannot cloud my judgment. It's taking all of my free will to keep myself from going back to her. I thought I was above these foolish emotions by now. _He took the other hand and ran it through his hair. _I've never had any feeling of love for anyone, how can I be sure this isn't some sort of childish infatuation? _

Inunobu decided to walk a little more to try to clear his head. He was paying no attention his surroundings. He turned into a lush forest and but his back against a tree. _I honestly want to be with her. I can't deny that. But…those emotions are weaknesses when I fight the Order of the Claw and Kichiro. He will take advantage of it and catch me off guard. _He closed his eyes, keeping them closed for a long time. He tried to fall asleep but could not get his mind to stop thinking. When he finally opened his eyes there was someone in front of him, standing a mere three feet in front of him. He hadn't been paying attention to his nose or ears at all. He was ready to strike until he saw who it was.

'Something else troubles you I see,' the resurrected priestess said.

'You…why are you here?'

'I go where I am needed. I am trained in the art of healing, physical and emotional,' she gave a light smile. 'What is bothering you?'

The demon figured he might as well talk to her. Even he did not completely understand himself, and Kikyo had helped him in the past. _Look at me…asking a human for help. Resurrected or not, she was still human._

'I take it you are having a difficult name saying what you need to. Please, allow me to touch your soul, I can calm its unrest.' She took a step forward toward Inunobu. He held his ground, not wanting to have to rely on her help but also not wanting to lose an opportunity. She stopped and held out her hands, palms up, motioning for the demon to lend his hands. Reluctantly he placed both of his clawed hands in hers. She pulled both sets of hands up to the sides of his head, and touched her forehead to his. An unbelievably calming energy spread through his body; it almost lulled him to sleep.

_To think that a human priestess could have so much power over a demon like me. _His head slipped from against hers and rested gently on her shoulder. He was almost unconscious but his mind was alive. He needed to be with Sayuri, his mind and heart agreed. _To think a demon could feel human emotions. Maybe…it was just me…My father loved two humans. Perhaps it's just something that all demons have to learn._ His vision was blackening. _Kikyo is so powerful…but not a power that I have ever seen…it is no wonder that fate planned against her._ He was moments from a complete loss of consciousness, but was wrenched out of his drowsiness just as quickly. He lifted his head and took a deep breath.

'Thank you Kikyo.' She smiled, it looked similar to Kagome's smile but it had sadness in it. He turned and ran back in the direction of Sayuri.

**With Sayuri**

The demoness was dazed. All she could think about was Inunobu. She was softy touching the places where Inunobu's fangs had bitten her neck. Her entire body tingled. _Please come back to me Inunobu, I am tired of being alone, and so are you._ She sniffed the air frequently with her sensitive nose in the hopes of catching Inunobu's scent returning. Her nose caught the scent of a familiar person. She glanced over to where she smelled it and saw Kagome wandering in her direction. _Kagome…You better not have been watching us, or I will make you pay for it._

'Hi Sayuri.'

'What are you doing here Kagome; it's almost the middle of the night'

'I was just coming to give you guys a little something to eat…it's not like I can ever go to sleep with someone like Inuyasha around all the time. Anyway so I will just leave this bag here with you tonight, just bring it back to me when…' she stopped talking when she noticed that the demoness was not paying attention, looking off into the sky, in a dreamlike state. Kagome suddenly became very intrigued.

'Sayuri you look different. And where's Inunobu, it's not like him to leave you to fend for yourself. Sayuri…?'

Sayuri was still staring, not paying attention. Kagome walked a little closer, not being able to make out much in the dark besides a few obvious features. Sayuri sighed deeply and turned away, letting her neck show accidentally, the moonlight revealing the fang marks that Inunobu had left her, but they did not pierce the skin she noticed. Realization dawned on her.

'Sayuri…did you…' she stopped when she saw the demoness blush deeply; it was visible even in the darkness. _She definitely is more emotional than any demon I have ever seen. I guess she fits Inunobu perfectly._

'Ok Sayuri, I'll leave you alone for a while. I hope everything goes well for you.'

Sayuri nodded as Kagome walked away. Her sense of smell picked up Inunobu's scent on the wind coming towards her. She stood up just as Inunobu came into view, jumping on a few trees and landing ten feet away. She put up her hand halfway but stopped. The look in Inunobu's eyes was one of peace. It was unlike anything she had ever seen from the demon. He strode over to her across the grass and threw her into an embrace, which she returned. _I won't let anything happen to her; I will never let Kichiro get to her._

'Sayuri, lie with me for a while.'

'Sure.'

They settled down on the grass, Sayuri resting her head on Inunobu's chest and listened to his heartbeat. Inunobu held her to him, one hand around her waist and other around her back. His head rested on the top of hers. Inunobu's last thoughts before he and Sayuri drifted off to sleep were determined. _I will never let harm come to her. I will not make the same mistake as my father._

**Morning**

'Kagome let's go already what's taking you?' Inuyasha was in a hurry this morning. The villagers were less friendly than most. He was becoming uneasy.

'Um…don't you think we should wait Inuyasha?'

'What for what? Inunobu would want to get going early too if he was here.'

'Why don't we wait for Inunobu to come back to us...I don't think he wants us to disturb him,' she said meekly.

'Ok now I'm confused. Kagome, why wouldn't he want to be disturbed?'

'Kagome,' Miroku said in a curious voice, 'was Inunobu with Sayuri….' He whispered the last part to her. She nodded with a smile on her face.

'Uh…Inuyasha, we should give him a little time back to us.' _Interrupting Inunobu and Sayuri, even if all they're doing is talking, would mean certain death._

'Not you too Miroku! I'm going to find him so we can leave.'

'Sit.' Thud.

'Kagome…I hardly think Inuyasha deserved that,' Sango said. Kagome whispered in her ear, and the demon slayer had a look of shock on her face. 'Kagome…sit him again…he's trying to get away.'

'What? I was just standing-'

'Sit.' Thud.

'What the hell was that for?'

'Inuyasha,' Miroku started, 'let me try to explain slowly so you can grasp this concept. Inunobu went away from the village right?'

'Yeah, what of it?'

'And Sayuri followed him. I can't believe you can't understand…All right I will try one more time. Inunobu and Sayuri went away into the night….together. I can't believe…Kagome how do you put up with this?'

'Ok Inuyasha, I am going to say it out in the open. Sayuri had gentle little bite marks on the side of her neck when I went to see her and bring her something to eat.'

Inuyasha froze. _Bite marks? As in…Inunobu bit her. That means they were going to be…Well you can't blame me for not realizing it…this is Inunobu we're talking about! _Inuyasha sat down in disbelief. Inunobu was the last person he knew that he thought could be capable of loving someone.

Kagome smiled. 'I think Inuyasha gets it. Miroku, if you don't mind, what exactly does the bite mean? And leave out the perverted parts please.'

'Why of course I will tell you, but how can you accuse me of perversion. I am but a simple monk. Anyway, a dog demon, and most demons for that matter, use bites as a deeper sign of love for their partner. I am sure they still exchange kisses, but it means less to them. That kind of bite that you saw yesterday Kagome is not to be confused with the mating mark, which is given at the base of the neck on the female. This signifies that they have mated and are by demon terms, married. Sayuri most likely will not have a mating mark, because dog demons prefer to wait until they are absolutely positive they have chosen the right companion. My master Mushin also told me some more interesting parts that involve the physical aspect of this ritual. I find it quite interesting, and I am sure that…why are you all staring at me?'

'We said without the perverted parts Miroku,' Kagome said annoyed.

**Back With Inunobu and Sayuri**

Inunobu woke up first, catching the scent of a well cooked breakfast in the village. He felt something warm in his arms and looked down to find a still-sleeping Sayuri. He pulled her closer. It was at least ten in the morning, he thought he should head back unless he wanted to hear no end of it from Inuyasha when the group found them like this. He felt her stir in his grasp. Her nose twitched while her eyes were still closed. Had Kagome been there, he thought, she would have thought it was adorable. He closed his arms tighter around her, which caused her to open her eyes. She looked at him sleepy eyed for a minute before leaning up and kissing him.

'Sayuri lets go, unless you want them to find us like this.'

'Inuyasha would hold it over us forever. Let's go anyway, I smell food.'

Sayuri made a move to get up, and Inunobu was about to let her when he realized that he didn't want to let her go, so he grabbed her as she was standing and she fell back into his lap. She laughed.

'We can go in a few minutes,' Inunobu said. He gently bit her on the neck. She leaned into it like before, but after a few seconds went almost completely limp. She hung onto his neck with her arms and put her head on his shoulder. She waited even longer to say anything, and Inunobu biting her neck still did not make it easier.

'You know, all of the dog demons back home always told me that biting was normal, but they never actually told me how good it feels.' She was about continue when Inunobu bit down harder, causing her to gasp. _Damn him, there's no way I will ever get up now. Unless…_ An idea toyed with her head. She timed it just right and turned her head and bit into Inunobu's neck the same way. He let out a long breath, not expecting it at all. The feeling was amazing and different from anything. It bordered along the line between minor pain and pleasure. The two dog demons sank into the grass, further from going to breakfast than they were before they woke up. Twenty minutes later and they were lying in each other's arms not moving.

'Sayuri, I think this time we really should get up.'

'Yeah I guess so.'

Both demons rose from the grass, still clinging to each other. They walked toward Inuyasha and the others. Emerging into the group's line of vision, Inunobu dropped his arm that was around Sayuri's waist. _This is foolish trying to hide this from them. They are friends after all. Besides unless Inuyasha is stupid our smell will give us away._ _All anyone has to do is look a little more closely at our necks. Still, I want to see how perceptive my younger half-brother really is._

Inuyasha watched them approach. They looked the same as yesterday, but they were walking much closer together. Then their scent came to him over the wind. It was painfully obvious that Kagome was telling the truth. Their scents were almost indistinguishable from each other. It didn't smell like they were mated yet though, just that they had slept together. He would wait until later say anything. _If Inunobu can change this much in only a few months then he deserves at least a day of peace about this. It was a good change after all wasn't it?_

**Elsewhere**

The demon Lord of the Western Lands was fast approaching his two younger brothers from the air. Inunobu would want to know that two of the Claw's scouts were seen on the borders of their homeland. Sesshomaru was close, but Inunobu's scent was different. The new part of his scent smelled vaguely familiar. It was several minutes before Jaken spoke up.

'My Lord I can see them.'

Inunobu was already looking in their direction. Sesshomaru jumped of his flying serpent Ah and Un. Inuyasha had ignored Sesshomaru's, and he seemed annoyed that the Lord of the Western Lands had shown up. The rest of the group, who did not have as keen a sense of smell, kept walking. Inunobu stood waiting for Sesshomaru to approach, and strangely, Sesshomaru noticed, so did Sayuri. _It was Sayuri's scent that I smelled on Inunobu. _

'You are here earlier than I expected, has something happened?' Inunobu spoke.

Kagome, Shippo, Sango, and Miroku turned around and realized that Sesshomaru had appeared without them noticing. Sesshomaru looked more anxious than usual.

'Inunobu, the Claw is on the move. They have sent two of their scouts into the Western Lands. Their targets are one of my best generals and Sayuri's father,' Sesshomaru said emotionlessly. Inunobu saw Sayuri become pale.

'Very well, I shall return with you. Inuyasha, are you coming?' Inunobu asked.

'Don't see why I shouldn't. As long as it's clear that I'm helping you and not avenging my father's death, I'll go.'

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes at this. _What disrespect! Inuyasha is so foolish._ He turned to leave but stopped. 'Sayuri, if you wish I can take you back to the West to your father faster than Inunobu.'

'She stays with me.'

Sesshomaru's lip curled in a sarcastic half-smile._ Inunobu you have earned some of my respect for taking a demon instead of a human. _He climbed on Ah and Un and flew away, Jaken and Rin hanging onto the serpent so they wouldn't fall off.

Inunobu and Sayuri turned and walked to the West. Sayuri was extremely worried for her father. She was very depressed, and Inunobu noticed. He wrapped a protective arm around her as they walked. Her eyes had gratitude in them when she looked at him. Inuyasha was in shock. His brother, the cold and ruthless Inunobu, had just shown a kind and gentle gesture. _Maybe he has himself more under control._ The Western Lands were at least a week away, and it was starting with a painful silence. Each person was left to their own thoughts. Sayuri was too afraid for her father; she needed something else to think about besides the Order of the Claw.

'Inunobu, did you and my father get along well?'

'He was my personal tutor when I was young. I learned much from him, and have a great respect for him. I don't think he will be thrilled when I show up again, especially in times like this. I will be suspected as part of the Order of the Claw; I have not returned home in two hundred years. Your father will be happy that you have found a mate until he discovers it is me.'

'It will be fine. The only thing we need to worry about is getting there before they kill…' She put her head down, not wanting to think of it. She was still young, not old enough to have started her own life away from her parents. She would be devastated if he died.

Inunobu tightened his grip around her. _Nothing will happen to her. She will not have to grieve for her father because he will not die. I will make sure of that._ 'Sayuri, it will be fine. I will personally slit the throats of all of the members of the Order of the Claw. They will not exist for much longer.'

**One Week Later, At the Border of the Western Lands**

Inunobu stood in front of the forest that bordered the West, his home. His last memories of this place were painful. _Nothing has changed about this forest; I can smell the scouts that will warn the kingdom if they see me coming. I can't be sure if anyone would recognize me or not._ Inunobu had an idea.

'Listen to me,' Inunobu began, 'no one can know that I am here, not yet. The Order of the Claw will never allow me to get close to them if both Sesshomaru and I are here. I am merely a stray dog.' Inunobu transformed into a dog, allowing himself to be engulfed by the light. Sayuri gasped.

'Inunobu how did you do that? I've never seen a dog demon who could transform like that before.'

'Well,' Miroku said, 'Inunobu is very different from other dog demons. The energy that he absorbed from the Shikon Jewel as a child warped his demon power.'

Inunobu ended the conversation between the two by starting into the forest. The rest followed him. Sayuri put one hand on his back. He was tall enough to be within easy reach of a standing person. Inunobu was positive that only Sesshomaru, his father, and now his companions knew of his transformation ability. He would be able to slip into the castle unnoticed.

'Halt. State your names.' A forest guard had appeared in front of them.

'I am Sayuri, the daughter of the head of the council. These are my friends whom I have become quite fond of. They helped me through some hard times.'

'And who is that,' pointing at Inunobu.

'This is a stray I found. He is very faithful. I couldn't bear to leave him.'

'Very well, you may pass.'

They were stopped by three more guardsmen and then a pair of guards at the gates. The gates looked the same to Inunobu, though the guards wore more current uniforms. The gates open to reveal the castle and Inunobu's home. Instead of walking the guests in, the guards merely shut the gate behind them. _They did not even send a messenger to let Sesshomaru, or Sesshomaru's stand-in know that we are here. _The plaza in front of the castle was a giant marketplace, selling everything imaginable. _This was not here before. When I last was here, people did not carry weapons on the street._ He noticed many demons brandishing elaborate swords and a few battle axes. _If we dog demons cannot even trust each other, what hope do we have to remain the most powerful kingdom. _They reached the doors of the castle, which were open. The guard did not acknowledge their presence. Inunobu was angry. Not only had the kingdom become unorganized, but the people had lost all respect for each other. Technically, Inuyasha was a prince, and they ignored him.

'Stop. Who are you people?'

'I am Sayuri, these are friends.' She pointed at the group behind her and the dog at her side. They looked uneasy. The humans were concerned that they were in danger, being virtually the only humans in a kingdom of demons. Shippo was looking around meekly. Inuyasha looked like his normal self.

The guard nodded. Sayuri led them to the study that held the Lord. She knocked on the door, and a servant opened it. Behind the servant Sesshomaru stood talking with Sayuri's father, Susumu. Sesshomaru looked calm, but Susumu was worried. No doubt Sesshomaru had just told him that the Order of the Claw sought his life.

'Father?'

'Sayuri! I was so worried. They told me that you were attacked. Lord Sesshomaru could we finish this conversation later, I have not seen my daughter in weeks.'

'Very well.' Sesshomaru walked out of the room. Once he was outside the door he told a guard to direct the humans, Shippo, and Kirara to the place they would be staying. Inuyasha followed Kagome, leaving Sayuri with her father. Inunobu, who still had not transformed, stood in the doorway.

'Father I have wonderful news,' Sayuri said excited. 'I found someone who will be my mate.'

'Sayuri…this is a bit sudden. Tell me, who is it. I would assume a dog demon.'

'Yes, he saved me when I was about to be killed. You know him.'

'Sayuri stop keeping your father in the dark, I cannot take it at my age.'

Sayuri smiled and made a motion to Inunobu to approach closer. Sayuri closed the door, not wanting to give Inunobu's presence away to anyone but her father. Inunobu believed he could trust Susumu, so he did not object. She crouched and gave him a nuzzle with her head. Her father was confused. His eyes widened when the dog began to glow, morphing into Inunobu.

'Impossible. I thought you were dead.'

'Now Susumu, what kind of a greeting is that?'

'You are my daughter's mate?' he asked. Inunobu nodded.

'Do you disapprove Susumu?'

'I…I don't know. I have not seen you in 200 years; I hardly think that I know who you are anymore. Sayuri…there is no easy way to say this, but does he still lose control of himself like he used to.

'I would never hurt your daughter. You must believe that. She means more to me than anything I have ever known,' he said challengingly. Sayuri smiled gently and took one of his hands.

'I am not sure if I am completely happy with your decision Sayuri, but I have not seen Inunobu in many years. He could very well have changed. Now on to more urgent matters; Lord Sesshomaru informs me that you are here to hunt down the Order of the Claw. The first scout will most likely attempt to assassinate the Lord tonight at the dinner. Lord Sesshomaru has instructed that we leave him unguarded to invite an attack. The next scout is thought to be prepared to attack me tomorrow, and we will worry about that after the Lord's assassin is killed. For now get reacquainted with your home, you have no doubt missed it.'

Inunobu did not leave right away. He wanted to make sure Sayuri was coming with him. She looked at Inunobu and made a signal with her eyes to say that she wanted to leave. Susumu watched his daughter walk away with Inunobu. When they reached the other end of the room Inunobu transformed into his canine form and they wandered into the hallway. Susumu would talk to his daughter more seriously after the two scouts from the Order of the Claw were dealt with. Susumu hoped, for Sayuri' sake, that Inunobu had changed.


	12. Chapter 11: The First Assassin

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Inuyasha; they are the property of Rumiko Takahashi._

**Chapter 11: The First Assassin of the Order of the Claw**

**Inunobu and Sayuri**

'Ok Inunobu I think its safe to transform now,' Sayuri said peering down a long ornate hallway in the palace, checking for any signs of approaches.

Inunobu encased himself in a ball of light and emerged in his humanoid form. He looked worried; the time was nearing and the first assassin was due to arrive soon. The target would be Sesshomaru. Not that Inunobu would be saddened by the death of his brother, but the bloodline needed to be preserved. Inunobu grunted as he stretched his back, tired of walking around in his canine form. Soon enough he would be able to reveal himself.

Inunobu and Sayuri walked alone down the hallway, Inunobu rested one arm protectively around her waist. _I will not have her taken from me, especially not now when her father has not objected and given us his approval._

'Inunobu?' Sayuri asked, looking concerned and off to the side.

'What is it?' he responded gently.

'I…I'm worried for my father, do you think he will be ok? Do you think that the Order of the Claw can get to him?'

Inunobu looked at the sad gaze she was giving him. _I would never let anything happen to Sayuri, or anyone she cares for. _He stopped walking and embraced her forcibly yet softly. He placed his teeth on her neck and gave her a light bite. Her emotions got the better of her, and she started sobbing uncontrollably into his chest.

'Sayuri, I won't let anything happen to Susumu, I promise.'

She sobbed slower, regaining her composure. She looked at Inunobu, tears in her eyes, and kissed him once before returning her head to its buried position in his chest.

**In a Private Room with Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, Sango, Shippo, and Kirara**

'Inuyasha it's getting to be time for the first attack,' warned Miroku. 'We had best be prepared.'

'Keh. I don't know what you're worried about; it's not like its something that we can't handle.'

'That isn't the point, Inuyasha!' Kagome said irritably. 'It's always best to be prepared. Besides,' Kagome added, 'Sayuri seems really worried, and not taking the situation seriously might offend her.'

'Kagome has a good point,' Sango chimed in.

There was a knock at the door. The group became very silent as Inuyasha cautiously opened it. The suspense in the room continued to build up as Inuyasha opened the door to reveal…an incredibly bored looking Sesshomaru.

'What do you want Sesshomaru? I don't remember wanting you around.'

'What a pleasant greeting, little brother. I have news concerning the first assassin that both you and Inunobu need to hear.' Sesshomaru then noticed that Inunobu was not in the room, and his expression became one of even more boredom mixed with irritation. 'Where, may I ask, is Inunobu?'

'Behind you,' said a voice coming from a person who Sesshomaru was blocking.

Sesshomaru's expression turned to one of annoyance. Kagome began to burst out laughing. Sesshomaru turned to Kagome to see what was more important than his presence.

'Excuse me, but what is so hilarious that you would stop giving the Lord of the Western Lands your full attention.'

'Your….facial….expressions….I can't stop laughing,' Kagome managed to squeeze out between breaths. Sesshomaru dropped his head into one hand, while the other one turned into a fist. This of course made Kagome laugh more.

Sesshomaru looked to Inuyasha as if to say "control her". Inuyasha just shrugged and continued looking at Kagome, who by now had calmed down. Sesshomaru began to speak.'

'Inunobu…and Inuyasha, I have news regarding the assassin. An unknown demon was reported in one of the border towns of this castle, which is a town that Kichiro has frequently visited. I have no doubt that this is the assassin who plans to strike today. He is said to be can excellent fighter who prefers to use his claws.'

Inunobu was standing in the corner of the room, with Sayuri leaning against him. She seemed apprehensive as ever now that the ordeal was about to begin. Inunobu looked at Sayuri and gave her a reassuring gaze. Her lips turned up in a very slight smile. _I will protect you, Sayuri._

Sesshomaru turned to leave, but halfway across the door he stopped. 'Inunobu, follow me, it has been at least 200 years since I have had someone decent to spar with.' Inunobu acknowledged and rose from his leaning position on the wall. He took Sayuri out of his arms carefully and placed one hand on the side of her face before leaving the room.

**The Sparring Arena**

'It has been a while hasn't it, little brother. I hope you are not expecting a victory; you still lack the strength to defeat me.'

'We will see Sesshomaru.'

They took their positions on opposite sides of the arena. There were at least fifty people who had come to see their Lord fight. They were too young to know who Inunobu was, or what his capabilities were. The onlookers had merely come to see Sesshomaru beat up on another helpless challenger.

Both opponents tuned into the sounds around them, waiting for the perfect distraction to lunge at each other.

'Begin,' commanded Sesshomaru. _I must gauge Inunobu's abilities to know whether or not he can be counted on in these upcoming attacks._

Within moments of Sesshomaru's command Inunobu was gone in a blur, almost melting into the air. Several of the onlookers gasped, never having seen anyone close to Sesshomaru in speed. Sesshomaru barely flinched as he moved his arm to block Inunobu's incoming punch. Inunobu was visible for only a few moments before disappearing again. This time Sesshomaru would not wait for him to strike, but instead let loose a light whip from his fingertips in a giant circle. The green whip crashed with a red one above it. Sesshomaru casually gazed at the roof where Inunobu was crouched with one clawed hand imbedded in the ceiling to anchor him there.

_Sesshomaru is indeed a fighter, the royal life of a noble does not suit him with his abilities. It suits his personality perfectly though._

Sesshomaru decided to stop playing around and literally flew upwards and struck Inunobu in the face with his fist, pushing him into the ceiling, producing cracks around the indentation of his body in the roof. The watchers cheered as the saw their Lord's opponent plummet to the ground and land hard on the sparring mat.

'Damn you…where did that come from?'

Sesshomaru smirked. 'You never change, always arrogant without anything behind it.' Sesshomaru landed gracefully on the floor.

'Me? Arrogant? That's a bold statement coming from you.'

Inunobu barely had time to stand up before Sesshomaru was in his face again with one hand wrapped around his neck. Inunobu was slammed into a wall at full force. The older demon stood, pinning Inunobu against the wall by the neck.

'Tell me, little brother, I am curious.' _I must find out how strong my younger brother really is. Spending time with those humans has taught him to control his emotions while suppressing his demon power. He must learn both the control himself and his power, not merely keep it suppressed._

'What is it Sesshomaru, that you are so curious about?' Inunobu managed to choke out through breaths.

'What will you do, if they kill her?'

Inunobu's eyes widened and he met the cold gaze of his older brother. He could see in his mind the sight of Sayuri lifeless on the floor, and could already feel the guilt wash over him from something that had not happened, that he would not let happen, even if it meant his life. His arms relaxed and dropped from trying to resist Sesshomaru's hold on him. His shoulders slumped low. Inunobu's raw emotions came flooding back to him, and his eyes refocused and became angry.

'No.'

In an immense feat of strength, Inunobu broke his older brother's grip. Once free he threw his fist as hard as he could into Sesshomaru's face and at the same time grabbed him with the same type of neck hold and hurled Sesshomaru across the arena into the wall on the other side.

The spectators had all fallen silent. Sesshomaru had not yet risen from where he had been thrown, and Inunobu was advancing steadily towards him, claws glowing green, with every intent to end his older brother's life for even suggesting such a thing.

'How dare you, Sesshomaru? I'll kill you and beat the assassins to their target,' he said so low that only Sesshomaru could hear him. Sesshomaru was faking unconsciousness, which Inunobu soon found out as he got a two-footed kick in the gut which threw him across the room back to the other wall.

**With Inuyasha**

Inuyasha had decided to follow his two brothers to the arena to see what they were capable of. He was almost to the door when he smelled two things. One he had expected; Inunobu's blood, but the other was a complete surprise. Sesshomaru was bleeding almost the same amount that Inunobu was, which meant that they were exchanging blows relatively equally.

Inuyasha arrived at the battle scene a few moments later to see both demons staring menacingly at each other. The look on Inunobu's face was different than his usual angry expression.

_Sesshomaru must have said something really infuriating to get Inunobu into a rage like that._

**The Rest of the Group**

'Sayuri stop worrying everything will be fine. There isn't much that can stand in the way of Sesshomaru, Inunobu, and Inuyasha fighting together. There is nothing to worry about; your father and the other targets will be fine.'

Sayuri looked blankly at a very expensive painting in the room on the wall. Not much had been said since Inunobu and Inuyasha left. Kagome felt horrible that she couldn't do anything to stop Sayuri from being so sad. She looked over at Sayuri for long enough to see one tear roll down the demoness' cheek.

'I have to find him,' were the only words Sayuri said before leaving the room. The only people that remained were Kagome, Shippo, Sango, Miroku, and Kirara, who was curled up in the corner.

Kagome thought to herself, _Sayuri was thinking of Inunobu that whole time, not her father. She must care for him so much. I bet the fact that he is fighting Sesshomaru is not helping to ease her fears either._

**At the Arena, Sayuri and Inuyasha Watching**

The blows from each fighter were being exchanged completely evenly, despite Sesshomaru's early lead. Inunobu had calmed down and come to his senses, and both demons were trying to minimize the damage so that it would be easy to recover before the assassin arrived.

Sayuri saw Inuyasha watching the fight on another side of the arena so she made her way over to him.

'Inunobu I believe this is enough, you should return to your room and prepare for the upcoming battle. I will do the same.'

Inunobu could not believe his ears. 'You are actually calling a fight before it's over. What has gotten into you Sesshomaru?' Inunobu smirked.

Sesshomaru walked by Inunobu, and when he was close enough to his younger brother so that only Inunobu could hear him he said, 'Look behind you, little brother.'

Inunobu wasn't sure what he meant until he caught the soft gentle scent of Sayuri. Sesshomaru had stopped the fight because of Sayuri. He had known she would not want to see Inunobu being hit. Inunobu faced Sesshomaru until the demon Lord had walked from the room, followed by his subjects. This left only Inuyasha and Sayuri in the arena room. Inuyasha was also walking towards the exit. Sayuri however was standing a few feet behind Inunobu, who still had not turned around.

Finally he faced her. 'Sayuri, you should not be so worried, I will be fine. You have no need to be afraid, I will always be here to protect-'

He was stopped mid sentence when she pressed her lips to his. His response was immediate, and he wrapped his arms around her tightly. Both arms were still around her when they returned to the room, which promptly fell silent. Inunobu, feeling very at peace, guided their conjoined form over to one of the corners of the room where they sank to the floor.

_Inunobu needs to rest, _Sayuri thought, _I need to make sure he gets all of his energy back._ She allowed an incredibly calm energy to spread throughout her body and it seemed to enter Inunobu as well. He immediately became drowsy, but was completely willing to fall into this sleep. Minutes later Inunobu slept with Sayuri against him. The dog demoness had her eyes half open in an almost dreamlike state.

'Uh…what the hell just happened?' Inuyasha asked, extremely confused.

'Amazingly, my master, Mushin, was able to tell me about this,' Miroku stated. He waited for everyone to look at him before beginning again. 'Dog demons are very spiritual creatures. What you saw now was a bonding of spirits in some sense. Sayuri produced a calming aura and gave it to Inunobu. The range of this aura is not very wide, but I would guess it is large enough to influence Inuyasha,' said Miroku, who was now pointing to the half demon who was clearly getting sleepy.

Inuyasha rose to get away from the drowsiness and walked across the room. Kagome began to wonder if the aura was really just a powerful type of pheromone.

'If you notice,' Miroku continued, 'Sayuri is still awake, but she can neither hear nor see you. She is in the same state as Inunobu. This aura only affects dog demons, Shippo, so you are fine. I can only assume that Inuyasha is only affected a small amount because he is a half demon. I have also heard that only dog demonesses can produce this aura and they must be spiritually strong.'

Sesshomaru, with perfect timing, strolled into the room with his usual cold, serious look on his face. He looked extremely annoyed that Inunobu had not stood up to listen to his news and made his way over. Since Sesshomaru had such and incredibly strong demonic aura, the calming aura went unnoticed at first. Sesshomaru leaned down, getting more and more angry, and was about to lose his temper when he saw Inunobu was asleep, and that unmistakable blank stare on Sayuri's face. He immediately sprang backwards against the wall near the door.

'I came to inform all who are going to partake in this battle that the assassin has been spotted on the forest border, and will be in the palace at dark.' Sesshomaru turned and walked out of the room. Inuyasha noticed his movements were a bit more sluggish than usual.

**One Hour Until Night**

'Miroku it's almost time, how long are they going to stay asleep?' asked an impatient Inuyasha.

'Inuyasha be patient, they will be awake in time. Besides you could use this time to rest yourself.'

'Keh, I'm not weak like you!'

Kagome and Sango sat on the floor on opposite sides of the sleeping pair. Kagome was speaking to Sango about the upcoming battle, but stopped when Inunobu began to stir. His eyes were still closed, but his grip had tightened protectively around the demoness sleeping against him. Sayuri, who had by now fully closed her eyes, opened them a little, and gave a faint smile. The entire room was now staring at them, and had stopped whatever it was that they were doing.

'Oh, that is so adorable,' Kagome whispered to Inuyasha, who gave her a disgusted look.

Inunobu opened his eyes halfway to survey the room and curled his upper lip when he saw the others all staring at him. Shippo, sitting directly across from Inunobu, got a good look at this expression and hopped on Kagome's shoulder and whispered in her ear.

'Kagome I think Inunobu wants a little privacy.'

Kagome realized the young fox demon was right, and tried to think of something that would get the others to leave. The hardest to convince to leave would of course be Inuyasha, and being the self-elected leader of their traveling party, the others would follow him when he left. It only took Kagome a few more seconds to realize how to get Inuyasha to start leaving; food.

'Hey Inuyasha,' Kagome started, 'I'm getting kind of hungry, why don't we go get some food, Inunobu and Sayuri can catch up with us in a few minutes.'

Inuyasha's ears perked up when he heard the word food, and he immediately turned and walked out the door, followed by Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kirara. Kagome was the last to exit, and she turned to Inunobu, whose eyes were now open and staring at her, and gave him an all-knowing wink. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw him give a gentle smile. She smiled back and left.

'Sayuri,' Inunobu whispered in the demoness' ear, sitting upright and cradling her in his arms.

'Hm..' she replied, still sleepy.

'We should go to dinner; the assassin is most likely to strike at Sesshomaru while he is dining.' Inunobu smirked at Sesshomaru's arrogance in inviting an attack from a fellow dog demon that he had never seen before. Sesshomaru just assumed he was better skilled, which may well be the case. Inunobu started to lift Sayuri off of him so they could join the others.

'Inunobu wait.'

'What is it?' he asked tenderly, now seeing that something was troubling her.

'I…I'm scared. I don't want you to be hurt. I just couldn't live if I-'

'Sayuri stop. No enemy will defeat me. If I am to die, then it will be for you.'

_He would give his life for me? Whoever came up with the legends about Inunobu, they were so mistaken. _Sayuri had tears once again streaming down her cheeks. She couldn't be sure that everything would be okay, and that scared her. She wanted a future with Inunobu more than anything.

'Let's go,' Inunobu said, wrapping his arms around Sayuri once more before turning to leave. She followed moments later.

**At the Dinner Hall**

The banquet hall was vast and draped with fancy tapestries. The dining room was divided into three enormous tables. One was for the nobles and honored guests, another was for the political officers, and the smaller one was for the workers and servants. Sesshomaru sat at the noble table, with Inuyasha, Kagome, and the others off to the side. Sayuri sat with her father at the noble table, across from Sesshomaru, with Inunobu in his canine form at her feet. It was still not safe to let the assassin know that he was here.

'Father,' Sayuri began, 'what do you know about these assassins?'

'Well, Sayuri, each of them use different techniques. The one sent to assassinate Sesshomaru is probably the strongest they have, since the Lord is so highly skilled. It is rumored that he prefers fighting unarmed, which would say a great deal about his abilities.'

'What about the one that…is trying to kill…you?'

Susumu gave Sayuri a sympathetic look and took one of her hands. 'Sayuri, do not worry about that now. The time for worrying over my life will come tomorrow; there is no need to rush it.'

'Yes father,' she said softly, looking sadly at him. She smiled when she felt Inunobu nuzzling her other hand with his canine snout. She stroked the fur on his head before returning to her meal, not wanting to attract any attention. Meanwhile Sesshomaru was in a discussion with another noble.

'My Lord, don't you think this is a bit presumptuous to eat in plain sight and view of the attacker. Lord Sesshomaru, you should be more careful, we do not yet know what this assassin is capable of.'

'Silence, I will hear no more of this. The assassin is only a simple lowlife from the Order of the Claw. They cannot defeat me in the same way they defeated my father. This attacker will be destroyed.'

Sesshomaru finished his sentence and detected the smell of blood coming from his servant's quarters, which was supposed to be empty during the dinner hour. It would have made a perfect place for the assassin to hide, which means a servant surprised him while he was preparing to attack. _I will have to remember to resurrect that servant with Tenseiga for revealing the assassin to me._ The smell was very faint, and it seemed that only he could smell it. Inuyasha was too busy eating. Sesshomaru looked momentarily at the side of the table that Sayuri was sitting on to see if he could find Inunobu. He scanned the table and saw nothing, which made him a little annoyed, until he looked down at his feet and saw his brother sitting on his canine haunches three or four feet away, looking at the place where the smell of blood was coming from. _Ah I see, you smell it as well. Very well, it seems as though it has begun._

As soon as he finished that thought the assassin walked into plain view across the room, his hands covered in the same blood that was giving off the smell. Sesshomaru thought to himself, _it seems that he realized killing that servant would give him away. He wants to go for the grand entrance._ The entire room stopped talking, because even the weaker dog demons had a sense of smell strong enough to detect the odor of blood.

'All of you go to your quarters,' Sesshomaru commanded. The entirety of the room with the exception of Inuyasha, Inunobu, Kagome, Miroku, Sango, Shippo, Kirara, and Sayuri and Susumu emptied into the surrounding hallways as quickly as possible.

'Sesshomaru, I have come to slay you. You are a plague on this kingdom; you take your responsibilities too lightly. It is the duty of the Order of the Claw to remove you from your position of power,' hissed the assassin.

Sesshomaru got a good look at him after the subjects had cleared. He was very well muscled, though he had a slender build. His eyes were cruel and cold, but also looked a little insane. He was about as tall as Sesshomaru and, like the rumors said, he wore no weapon. Sesshomaru drew Tokijin and effortlessly threw off a wave of blue energy which tore through two very expensive looking tables and the carpets underneath them. The assassin jumped forwards, going over the energy wave by mere inches, and landed right in front of Sesshomaru and boldly slashed Tokijin with his claws, causing the sword to be ripped from Sesshomaru's hand and fly into the wall where it stuck.

'He's fast,' Sango said to herself.

Sesshomaru wasted no time and drew Tenseiga and sliced all the way through the assassin's waist. The assassin was caught off guard, and it took him a second too long to realize that Tenseiga could not harm him, which was long enough for Sesshomaru to land a hard right to the assassin's face. He fell to the ground.

'Damn you. You are unfit to rule this kingdom Sesshomaru.'

Sesshomaru addressed his attacker with boredom. 'Do I get the honor of knowing your name demon?'

The assassin was by this time across the room and away from Sesshomaru. 'My name is unimportant, in the Order of the Claw I am called Tsume, but you will soon forget that once you draw your last breath.'

Inunobu was getting very angry. This was the organization that plotted his father's downfall. He could not stand and do nothing; it was his vengeance as well. He walked in front of Tsume, and stood between him and Sesshomaru. Tsume gave him an odd look.

'Sesshomaru take your lowly dog from my presence, we are having a fight.'

Sesshomaru smirked tauntingly. This caused Tsume to become angry.

'How dare you laugh at me? You fool! I came here to destroy you so that-' Tsume stopped talking when he saw that the dog was glowing. Tsume was old enough to know Inunobu when he saw him, but this ability was developed after Tsume left. The light became brighter until a glowing humanoid form stood in the place of the dog. The glow faded, and Tsume looked more than a little surprised.

'Impossible! It's not possible! Inunobu, the lost Son of the Fang, our leader told us you were long dead.'

'He was mistaken,' responded Inunobu, with a determined look on his face. With that Inunobu flew across the room at Tsume, who was still in shock. Tsume only blocked Inunobu's slashing claws at the very last moment possible, and received a very deep gash in his arm and was thrown into the opposite wall. Inunobu continued his advance, dashing forwards and clawing Tsume's chest and arms. The assassin was bleeding profusely, but managed to get a swift kick into Inunobu's side, which was enough for him to flee to the other side of the room. Unfortunately for Tsume, Inuyasha was standing there.

'The other son is here as well.' _Kichiro you have made so many miscalculations._

'WIND SCAR!'

A wave of golden energy washed over Tsume, who had once again managed to escape with his life. The assassin was crouched on the ground, breathing heavily. He noticed a full medieval suit of armor Sesshomaru had brought back from a distant land. _Perfect._

'Revenge is mine,' said Inunobu, now closing in on his prey. Both hands glowed green, ready to release deadly poison. Tsume back flipped over to the suit of armor and grabbed a very large scale broad sword that the armor suit had in its hands. He turned around and hurled the sword as hard as he could. It was only a fraction of a second later that a gleaming red light whip removed his already bloody head from his body. He was dead before he hit the floor.

Inunobu saw the poor aim the Tsume had used to throw the sword. _It is no wonder he fought unarmed. No…_ Inunobu's thoughts sped up as time seemed to slow down. The sword was not aimed at him but at…._Sayuri…_The sword was in range so that he could catch it, but he couldn't take the risk. _If I miss the sword, I'll have no chance to catch it again. That leaves one choice._

Sesshomaru watched Tsume die with satisfaction, but he too realized the broad sword's destination. He felt genuinely anxious; he was too far away to do anything, and the only person who could do something was Inunobu. When he taunted Inunobu with the idea of Sayuri's death in the arena, he had not meant it. _If Sayuri dies, it will destroy Inunobu more than father's death ever did._

The other people in the room, excluding Sayuri, could not follow the path of the sword, because it was moving too fast. Sayuri could not see where the broad sword was going, since Inunobu blocked her view.

In the split second that Inunobu realized what was about to happen, he had made up his mind. He could not risk going for the sword, but he could save Sayuri. He summoned up the most demon speed he could muster and glided across the room to Sayuri, where he immediately threw her out of the way. He felt the blade slide into him, impaling him and then pinning him against the wall. It was much wider and more painful than the demon slayer's katana that Inuyasha had stabbed him with. Inunobu barely had enough energy to make a sound, and the effect of the sword through his body was immediate.

Sesshomaru's eyes widened. His younger brother had just willingly sacrificed himself for someone else. It was a sight that he never thought he would behold in the entirety of his life. Inuyasha had a similar expression on his face, and the humans and Shippo were stunned. No one knew how to react.

They did not have long; Inunobu was fading fast. The wounded demon was slumped against the wall, and his blood was everywhere. It had splashed out of his body with violent force on the initial impact of the sword, and was now dripping everywhere. His white clothes were completely red on the front half. Sayuri was still on the ground, not facing Inunobu. She didn't want to look. Tears already formed and were flowing from her eyes. _No…please…don't let it be…anything else just not this…please._

Sayuri turned around slowly, taking in the sight of her wounded beloved. She saw exactly what she prayed she would not see. In all likelihood, Inunobu would die. His head was slumped to one side, but his eyes were looking at her. They were becoming clouded and glazed. Sayuri approached slowly, and when she got to Inunobu she took his head in her arms.

'No…' she said quietly, 'Inunobu…please.'

The dog demon responded to her voice and his eyes regained their focus a bit. She could tell he was listening.

'Inunobu you can't…you can't die.' Sayuri was crying silently, and her voice was heavy with grief. 'I…love…you,' Sayuri whispered to him. His lips formed into a smile, or at least the best smile he could manage. His eyes closed.

**A/N: Yeah ok so this might be a little bit of a cliffhanger, but on the bright side I'm back.**


	13. Chapter 12: Devotion

_Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Inuyasha; they are the property of Rumiko Takahashi._

**Chapter 12: Devotion **

'A healer quickly!' roared Sesshomaru down the hallways. It was the loudest any of them had ever heard Sesshomaru speak. Sesshomaru turned to leave that wing of the palace until he saw the healer, Hana, Sayuri's aunt, and former caretaker of Inunobu. Hana was not familiar with Inunobu's scent, since it had been two hundred years.

'My Lord,' Hana said panting, 'what is the matter, why are you yelling?'

'Hana follow me, there is someone I would have you care for. There may be little you can do; he is close to death already.' _If he hasn't already died._

'My Lord! I can smell Sayuri's scent. Is she injured, what has happened?'

'Sayuri is fine; can't you smell the blood from here? It is not Sayuri who is injured.'

'So much blood…we must go quickly,' Hana sped in front of Sesshomaru and around the corner to see Sayuri slumped against the wall, burdened with grief. She looked up as she saw her aunt approach. Hana stopped and look at her. Sayuri merely pointed to the closed door that led to the room where Inunobu lay bleeding. Hana ran into the room and froze.

'Lord…Inunobu. Sesshomaru what happened to him?'

Sesshomaru under any under circumstance would have been annoyed that she had not used his proper title, but overlooked it at this moment. His expression and tone did not change as he spoke.

'The assassin Tsume did this. He threw a large sword and it impaled Inunobu.'

'But my Lord,' Hana continued confused, 'I have seen Inunobu fight when he was younger, and even then he was fast enough to avoid something like this.'

'He did not have enough time to push Sayuri out of the way and save himself at the same time apparently.'

Hana's eyes widened. She understood. Inunobu had sacrificed himself. She knew why Sayuri was crying, and why she looked so worried. It all made sense, and if Hana did not save Inunobu, Sayuri would probably never recover completely. Sesshomaru could resurrect anyone with Tenseiga, but that still meant that Sayuri would see Inunobu die, and she would think it was her fault. Hana rushed to Inunobu's side, and was forced to kneel in a pool of blood, because Inunobu was still bleeding.

'I need bandages!' Hana pulled a healing assistant aside and instructed her to go get the necessary supplies. She returned to surveying Inunobu's wound. It was horrible, she could see through to the bed sheets on the other side of Inunobu's body. He had been moved to the bed after Sesshomaru had taken the sword out of his younger brother and forced Sayuri to get away from Inunobu long enough for him to be moved.

Hana took this time to see who else was in the room. Miroku, Sango, and Inuyasha were sitting solemnly on the other side. Kagome was with them and crying uncontrollably into Inuyasha's chest. Shippo and Kirara were outside the room trying to comfort Sayuri.

The healing assistant returned with the equipment. Hana noticed that the sword had broken many of Inunobu's ribs, and one of them was piercing into one of his lungs. She carefully removed the rib from his body. She thought _good thing bones grow back completely in demons or Inunobu would have been dead the instant the sword pierced him._ Hana reached into the wound again to fix another rib, but it was too painful and Inunobu's instincts reacted. His eye snapped open, glowing red and tried to go for Hana's throat, but was too weak, and his arm only reached a little bit farther than his body before it fell over again. He gave a weak growl and faded into unconsciousness again.

Sayuri was listening for any trace of sounds that Inunobu would make so she heard the growl and came rushing in. She turned ashen when she saw the half of one of Inunobu's ribs on the table beside the bed, and sunk to the floor.

'Sayuri please leave, you can't watch this, it must be so painful already,' Hana pleaded.

Sayuri nodded ever so slightly, and tried to rise but dropped to the floor again, tears flowing freely.

**Three Hours Later **

The wound had been cleaned and the blood puddle was gone. Sayuri had never left his side for a minute since she had come into the room when Hana was healing him. Inunobu had murmured Sayuri's name once before fading into unconsciousness.

'Sayuri,' Kagome said, 'you need to rest, maybe get something to eat. I know you're worried but we all are.'

'No, I can't leave him. I just can't…' The conversation was enough to push Sayuri over the edge and she buried her head into the side of the bead where Inunobu was sleeping. She began sobbing again, her shoulders heaving up and down. Kagome felt miserable for making her feel like this again, so she left the room.

**One Month Later**

Inunobu felt himself awakening. His experiences were odd, because he could hear people talking to him the entire time he was lying there, he just couldn't respond. Kagome had said something about a coma, which he couldn't understand. Sayuri cried a lot, which made him sad. He wished he could comfort her. As he awoke his sense of smell came back, and the only thing he could make out in the room was the smell of his own blood, and Sayuri. He opened his eyes just barely to see Sayuri on the floor with a blanket that looked like one of Kagome's draped over her. She was asleep, probably exhausted.

Being in bed for a month made him a little slow getting up; he took it one step at a time. First he sat up in bed and opened his eyes. His chest and stomach ached and burned. He felt the bandages and discovered that the hole in his chest had not completely vanished, but had gotten substantially smaller and stopped bleeding. Inunobu slid his legs over the side of the bed and stood shakily. It was remarkable that he had so much energy to spare after his ordeal. The only thing on his mind was making sure Sayuri knew he was alive. He needed to stop her crying. During the night when everyone else was asleep, that was all he heard.

Inunobu limped over to her sleeping form and half crouched half fell to the ground. She still did not awaken, so she must have slept very little. It was then that he noticed the plates of food and bowls of rice that had been consumed and left in the corner for the servants to pick up. She really had never left his room.

He placed one hand in her hair and stroked it. She showed a very small smile and exhaled deeply. Her eyelids rose slowly, then snapped all the way open as she felt the hand that was stroking her. _It couldn't be…Inunobu couldn't be awake…it's just too much to hope for but I can't resist._

She took his hand in hers and rose to a sitting position. Her heart was beating very fast as she stared at Inunobu, who looked fully awake. She put her smaller hands on his face and chest, trying to make sure that he was real and not an illusion, or a product of her imagination. She could feel him, his scent was there, and his eyes were full of life again. Finding Inunobu watching over her as she slept was too much to bear at this point. She collapsed into Inunobu, who held her to him.

'Inunobu…is it really you?'

'Yes, Sayuri, I'm here.'

Sayuri began to sob against his chest. She was overloaded with emotion. Inunobu let her get it all out before he loosened his grip on her, which turned out to last for about an hour.

'Sayuri.'

'Yes?'

'Before I lost consciousness, you told me something, but I was too weak to respond. Do you remember what it was that you told me?'

Inunobu had captured Sayuri's full attention. She hoped he was thinking along the same lines as she was. _I cannot waste any more time, _Inunobu thought, _we were almost separated forever. She must know._

'Sayuri…I love you,' he said tenderly. Inunobu barely got the words out of his mouth before he was tackled to the floor in an embrace. Sayuri draped herself gently on top of him, being careful not to aggravate his wound, and kissed him passionately. He responded by giving her gentle bites on the neck. They lay entangled together for about twenty minutes until Sayuri reluctantly pulled herself off.

'I'm not the only one who has worried about you; we should tell the others you're ok. I bet you would be surprised that even Sesshomaru asked me how you were doing.'

Inunobu tried to stand but was having trouble. Sayuri supported him and slowly eased him into a standing position. They moved down the hallways slowly, only going as fast as Inunobu could walk. On the way to the others, Sayuri filled Inunobu in on the details of the Order of the Claw. They had not attacked again, and were forced to rethink their plan now that Inunobu and Inuyasha had resurfaced at the same time. How they had discovered what transpired in the battle was still a mystery.

They passed through the last of the hallways to get to the main room of the wing of the castle that the group was staying in. Kagome was yelling at Inuyasha, and Inunobu was glad nothing much had changed.

'Inuyasha you idiot!' Kagome screamed. 'Stop picking on poor little Shippo! He never does anything to you.' Kagome looked away from Inuyasha for a second to catch her breath and stopped cold. Walking towards her were the two people she hadn't seen moving around in a month. Sayuri had left Inunobu's room, and Inunobu was actually awake and moving.

'Kagome…uh….Kagome….I'M TALKING TO YOU!' Inuyasha yelled.

'Sit.'

Kagome hadn't stopped staring at Inunobu and Sayuri since she started staring. Sango and Miroku turned to see what could captivate her attention so much. Sango gasped and ran over to greet them. She stopped at Inunobu first.

'You're ok…you're alive. We were all so worried. Come on let's help you over to someplace you can sit down,' the demon slayer said frantically.

**Sesshomaru's Private Office**

Sesshomaru busied himself trying to straighten out some of the records before he prepared to leave again. The Order of the Claw had not made a move for some time, and it was time to resume normal life without all this hassle. He wasn't sure if his brother could hang onto life. He wasn't too convinced. There was a knock at the door.

'Enter,' the demon lord commanded.

'My Lord,' the servant started meekly, 'it appears that your brother, Lord Inunobu, has awakened. He is in the main hall as we speak.'

Sesshomaru now devoted his full attention to the servant. _That wound should have killed him; something kept him in this world other than his own strength. I suspect it is Sayuri's devotion to him that ultimately saved his life._

'Very well, thank you for the report, I will be down momentarily.'

'Yes my Lord.'

**Main Hall**

'It's about time you got up; I was beginning to wonder if you would ever get up.'

'Inuyasha that isn't very nice,' Shippo reprimanded.

'Yeah, whatever.'

Inunobu had seated himself in a chair carefully. He slouched over so as not to agitate the wound, which was close to healing if he left it alone. Normally a dog demon would re-grow the flesh completely in a matter of days, but Inunobu had to grow back bones, parts of organs, and then the entire center area of his chest. Quite simply, he should have been dead.

'You feeling ok Inunobu? Maybe you should go back to bed,' Kagome said concerned.

'No I'm fine Kagome. Besides, I've had enough of lying in bed for a while. Speaking of bed, who allowed Sayuri to sleep on the floor? She could have taken the other half of the bed; it isn't like I was moving.'

The group fell silent. It wasn't that they hadn't let her sleep on the bed, but that she refused to. She couldn't bear to lay so close to Inunobu when he was so close to death. She had tried to sleep in the bed but ended up crying more.

Inunobu understood somewhat. The group was quiet, and Sayuri rested her head gently on his shoulder. Inunobu took Sayuri from where she sat on the arm of the chair and pulled her into the chair. Inunobu had heard enough of people crying while he was injured, and he wasn't about to allow Sayuri to cry any more. He let her get comfortable and rest on the part of his chest that wasn't hurt. She sighed heavily and sadly. The sad awkward moment would not last much longer however.

'I see you have returned to the land of the living, little brother.'

'You interrupted your work to come check on me, Sesshomaru? I had no idea you cared.'

Kagome sighed. _Can't they leave each other alone for just a little while?_

Sesshomaru smirked. 'I have a reason besides your well being, Inunobu. The head of my high council, Susumu, would like to speak with you. He asked me to refer you to him when you awoke. His only condition is that you come alone.'

'Very well…I will go. Sayuri, wait for me here with the others, I will return shortly.' Inunobu moved to get up and grimaced as he turned the wrong way, causing pain to shoot through his body. Sayuri looked at him worriedly and sadly. He tried to move again, this time with more success. Luckily, Susumu's office was only one hallway away, on the left of the great hall. Inunobu reached the door and knocked.

'Come in,' was Susumu's reply on the other side of the door.

The door creaked open and Inunobu walked into the room. Susumu was busy writing something. He assumed that it was one of his attendants, since no one else ever entered his office. He stopped writing and looked up from his work. His eyes opened wider, and he stood and hurried over to Inunobu to make him more comfortable, since he appeared to be in mild discomfort, leaning against the door. He was unused to answering to anyone but Sesshomaru, but now he had three demon lords in the palace.

'Lord Inunobu please come sit.'

'What's with the formality Susumu?'

'I think I owe it to you Inunobu, more than anyone else. That and my gratitude. I never realized that you…I am sorry that you suffered so much.'

'Susumu, I was asleep the whole time, really, I am fine.'

Susumu had by now put away everything he was doing, and was standing in front of Inunobu. He had a bright and happy look in his eyes.

'Inunobu,' Susumu began, 'let me begin by saying thank you. You saved my daughter's life. You put your own life on the line to save her. I can never repay you fully. You have my full permission to take Sayuri as your mate whenever you feel it is the proper time.'

'I am deeply grateful, Susumu.'

'Oh how different you have become! I can hardly contain myself here; it's like talking to a new person. I remember you 200 years ago, and now….I have never seen my daughter so happy as when she brought you here a month ago. And then of course there was the injury…'

Inunobu was really getting annoyed at this treatment he was getting. All he had done was make the logical sacrifice for the one he loved. It was something that every demon would do, wasn't it?

'Susumu, can we avoid talking about that injury for a while?' Inunobu asked. 'I hope you have not had to see the way your daughter reacted. I could hear her…while I was asleep.'

Susumu took this very seriously. He breathed more heavily and sat down in the chair facing Inunobu.

'You could hear? I don't understand how…but nonetheless what did Sayuri say?'

'I mostly heard her crying. She believed that it was…her fault. It was ridiculous, but I still could not reach out to her. She never left my bedside.'

'She what? I…I had no idea…I was gone on business until today. I left three days after you were injured.'

**Outside the Door**

'Miroku are you crazy? Do you have any idea what Inunobu will do to us if he finds out we are eavesdropping?'

'Sango be quiet I can't hear them, this door is thick enough as it is.'

Inuyasha and Kagome had stayed with Sayuri, not wanting her to be left alone if Inunobu's conversation took longer than expected. Kagome was enjoying actually having a conversation with her friend for the first time in weeks. Inuyasha looked bored, until he saw Miroku and Sango trying to listen in on Inunobu. Inuyasha started to laugh. Kagome, who could not remember a time when Inuyasha had actually laugher, was staring at him like he was insane.

'Inuyasha, what's wrong?' Kagome asked, getting worried. Inuyasha stopped laughing but still chuckled lightly.

'Kagome, look at them, Inunobu's going to kill them.'

'What? Kill who. Inuyasha start making sense right now or I'm—Oh god.'

Sayuri was confused as well, not facing her father's office, and she turned around to see what was capturing everyone's attention. She smiled; it seemed everything was back to normal. It was about time anyway. She also realized Miroku was in some danger.

Inunobu meanwhile was still listening to Susumu talking about how grateful he was and so on. It was getting boring. He decided to use Miroku as a distraction. He held up a hand and Susumu stopped talking. Inunobu pointed to the door.

'Can that door be replaced?'

'Well yes of course, why?'

'Good.' Inunobu flung his hand at the door and his red light whip flashed in the air before completely destroying the top half of the door. Miroku looked more than a little stunned. Sango was tugging at Miroku's robes.

'Come on Miroku, we have to get you out of here before you get in even more trouble!'

Inunobu was already on the other side of the door, leaning one arm on the doorframe looking at the monk with a bored yet amused expression. Miroku took one look at Inunobu and ran in the other direction around the hall. Sango followed him. Inunobu figured that now was just as good a time as any to run around again, and jumped over the door to give chase.

'Oh no you don't!'

Inunobu stopped in the middle of his stride when he heard Sayuri's voice.

'You are not going to run around until you are fully healed. I have spent too much time worrying whether you would be alright for you to go hurt yourself. Now I am going to go back to that chair where you told me to wait and stay there.'

Sayuri sat back down in the chair and kept her back turned. Inunobu smirked and went over to her. He grabbed her by the waist and swung her around so that he was sitting in the chair with her straddling his lap. Sayuri started to blush, then smiled warmly and rested against him.

'That's more like it,' she said softly.

**One Week Later**

Inunobu was healed and moving around again. He often sparred with Sesshomaru or some of the fighting masters in the palace. Sesshomaru had personally captured another of the Order of the Claw trying to sneak his way into the palace, and the assassin foolishly mentioned Kichiro's name. Kichiro was arrested the following day, and his execution was scheduled for the following week, which was one day away.

Now there were two problems to deal with. One was what to do about the remaining assassin, and second was how to properly use the Shikon no Tama once it was completed. The only two shards left were in Koga's legs, and Inuyasha was ready to take those at any time. Kagome was getting worried that Inuyasha still wanted to become a full-fledged demon.

Throughout the palace it was well known that Inunobu was back among them, and it was also soon discovered that Sayuri, the daughter of the head of their council, was his soon-to-be mate. The group was preparing to depart the next day after Kichiro was executed. Kagome had not returned home in at least a month and a half, and her family was no doubt becoming a little worried. And much to everyone's surprise, Sesshomaru was going to follow after them in a few more days with Rin, Jaken, and Ah and Un. Inunobu had told Sesshomaru about his visit to Kagome's era and Sesshomaru was very interested, especially about the part where there were no demons. He believed that it needed investigating.

'Inunobu,' Sayuri said, turning to him, 'let's go to bed, its dark and you still need rest.'

Sayuri and Inunobu had begun to share the same room since Inunobu recovered. Everyone but Inuyasha had gone to sleep, and he wasn't very talkative. Sayuri said goodnight to Inuyasha, who made a lazy wave with one hand, and Inunobu just ignored him. The room where they were sleeping was one of the nicer ones at the top of the palace, which meant it was a long walk.

'Inunobu, do you really think Kagome's plan will work? Do you think there is a way to get everyone to be able to cross the barrier of that well that she lives in?'

'She said Inuyasha could take Kagome through the well when she didn't have a jewel shard with her, which means I should be able to get you through the well. If not everyone can make it the first time then we will just return and bring them back. The well seems to allow people to return to their home era without any jewel shard, so they will all be able to make it back.'

'What's this world of hers like?'

'It's crowded, smells awful, and there are no demons.'

Sayuri laughed. 'Any other good news?'

By now they had reached the room, which was guarded full time by a sentry. Inunobu passed by the sentry first, who gave him a salute. Sayuri was next and she stopped and let Inunobu get inside the room and out of earshot, which took a while since his senses were so keen. She slipped a piece of the kingdom's currency into the sentry's hand.

'You don't need to be on guard duty tonight, alright?' she told the sentry. The guard was not stupid, so he gave her a smile and left.

Sayuri entered the room, which was dark, only illuminated by moonlight. Inunobu had not bothered to light the place because he was going to sleep. He removed his shirt, now being accustomed to sleeping without one since he had bandages on his chest for a month. Inunobu looked up when he noticed Sayuri had not gone to bed, but was standing up in the moonlight, looking more beautiful than ever, staring at him. In one move she slipped out of the clothes that she was wearing, revealing her naked body, and climbed into bed.

She put one hand on his bare chest and rolled on top of Inunobu kissing him passionately, a gesture he immediately returned. He placed one hand on the back of one of her thighs, and the other on her lower back. He nuzzled her neck and gently sank his fangs into it, causing her to moan quietly. He kissed her lips, face, and neck, and she melted into it. Sayuri rolled over and pulled Inunobu on top of her, entwining her legs in his, which had somehow removed their clothes. He pressed down on her, and she moaned again, louder. She wrapped her arms tightly around him and kissed him again. He pushed into her again and again, listening with satisfaction at the sounds she made. He proudly took Sayuri as his mate, and they made love the rest of the night.

**A/N: R&R please!**


	14. Chapter 13: On the Road Again

_Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from Inuyasha; they belong to Rumiko Takahashi._

**Chapter 13: On the Road Again**

**Sayuri and Inunobu's Bedchamber**

Sayuri awoke first. The sun shone through the curtains onto her face and gently pulled her from her sleep. She opened her eyes and smiled. The entire night came back to her in a flash as she lay against Inunobu, his arms wrapped around her. By her estimates it had to be at least ten in the morning, which meant they would be leaving soon, but she didn't want to get out of bed. The moment was just too perfect. Sleeping against Inunobu left her warm and comfortable, even though she was wearing no clothes. Sayuri took Inunobu's hand that was closest to her and put her own hand on it. He stirred.

'Morning, Sayuri,' Inunobu said sleepily as he kissed the side of neck and held her tighter.

Sayuri laughed softly and kissed his lips playfully. Inunobu decided to return the playfulness and took one clawed finger and traced the line of her body from the arch of her back to her hips and finally on the back of her leg. She shuddered; it worked.

'You know something Inunobu; I was beginning to think I was never going to find a mate.'

'I never had any intention of having one either. None of that matters.'

'We have to leave today, in about and hour or two I think. Couldn't we just stay in bed for a few more days and catch up with them later?'

'And travel with Sesshomaru? I think I'll pass.'

Sayuri laughed at this. She had turned around so that she was facing Inunobu instead of having her back to him. It was almost too much for Inunobu to bear. He was lying in bed with the most beautiful demoness in the entire kingdom, neither of them had any clothes on they were laying up against each other. The only problem was the group was leaving soon. Inunobu decided against his better judgment and went with instinct, kissing her lips lovingly and maneuvering on top of her. Before going any further he stared into her eyes. Sayuri began to feel very hot, the initial blush in her cheeks was gone and she felt the call of her demon instincts as well. Her lips lingered centimeters from Inunobu's.

She began to argue with herself. _You can't do this right now, what if Kagome or Inuyasha walks in. We have to leave. But…oh what the hell. _She pushed her lips against Inunobu's and whispered in his ear.

'Inunobu, I'm going to take a bath,' she said quietly and seductively. 'Come join me, no one will walk in on us there.' Inunobu began to wonder exactly how innocent she really was. The time for thinking was later, and Inunobu took her in his arms and carried her to her bath.

**With the rest of the Travel Party**

'Inuyasha, stop unpacking my bag I just zipped it up.'

'Aw but Kagome come on I need a box of ramen.'

'You already ate four of them THIS morning. Pack now, ramen later.'

Inuyasha pouted in the corner, beating up on a poor helpless Shippo who was eating something he had gotten out of Kagome's bag when she hadn't noticed. Inuyasha decided to try again and crawled along the floor until he came to the bag. Inuyasha sat up and reached towards it.

'Sit.'

Inuyasha's face plummeted at unbelievable speed into the overstuffed back that was already ripping at the seams. The bag exploded all over the room when Inuyasha hit it. Kagome was about to explode in anger herself until she saw Inuyasha not getting up. She lifted up his head to see that it had smashed right into the metal heater she kept for heating up the water for the ramen. Kagome nudged Inuyasha with her foot.

'Uh…Inu..yasha? You ok?'

'Sohmewhon helpf meh I an't breef!' said a panicked, muffled voice coming from underneath Inuyasha.

Kagome looked like she was going crazy. One of her eyebrows was arched, and she was still prodding Inuyasha with her toe. She looked around the room to see if anyone was trying to play a trick on her.

'Hmm well let's see there's Sango and Miroku and….where's Shippo.'

'Kagohmef helpf!'

'Oh god Shippo!' Kagome yelled as she kicked Inuyasha over to reveal a very squashed looking fox demon. Kagome picked him up and cradled him.

'Shippo what happened?'

'Inuyasha got mad at you so he took it out on me and stuffed me inside his shirt. Then he moved and all of a sudden you sat him and…'

'Oh is that so…Inuyasha was beating on you again huh?'

'Mmm hmm,' Shippo whined.

'Well in that case,' she looked over to the still unconscious Inuyasha, 'SIT!'

The floor below Inuyasha's head cracked loudly, and Inuyasha still didn't move.'

**Inunobu and Sayuri**

Sayuri rested against the corner of one of the walls of the bath breathing heavily. Inunobu was exhausted as well. It had been an hour since he had taken Sayuri into the bath an hour ago. She half crawled half floated in the water over to Inunobu who was resting his head on the ledge of the ornate tub and sank into his arms, throwing her own arms around him. She sighed. Her hair was wet and clung to her face.

'Ok Inunobu, let's go meet the others, there's no way I can go at that another time. I'm too tired.'

'Alright Sayuri,' Inunobu said into her ear, 'just one more thing.' Inunobu put his face into the base of her neck and shoulder and bared his teeth. He bit into the muscled part of her neck and she gasped, hugging him closer. Her heart beat wildly as she realized he had just given her the mating mark.

'Wow…that felt incredible. How often…do you bite me like that?' Sayuri asked, trying to give Inunobu small bites on his neck but failing in her incredibly relaxed state.

'It takes about a day for the mark to go away I would imagine, so once a day, or anytime you ask.'

'Inunobu I would get up but I don't think I can,' Sayuri said very softly. She felt like she was almost asleep. Inunobu kissed her forehead and lifted her out of the water and over to her dressing room.

**Inuyasha and Kagome**

'Inuyasha I told you I was sorry!' Kagome said with a hurt expression on her face. 'Besides it was your head that blew up the bag!'

Inuyasha was glaring at Kagome. Part of it was that he was annoyed at being denied more ramen but mostly it was the subjugation beads. His pride hurt thinking of all the times he had been sat.

'Whatever,' Inuyasha said angrily as he turned his back to Kagome.

Sango had been watching and decided that this was a great time for Kagome to come help her find food in the palace kitchen that Kirara would eat. 'Kagome, can you help me over here a minute?'

'Yeah sure Sango,' she replied, glaring at Inuyasha once more, 'be right there.'

Kagome and Sango walked into the kitchen to find Sayuri talking to herself asking where she could find something edible that didn't take too long to prepare. Kagome said hello to her but was still too angry at Inuyasha to get a conversation going. Sango leaned against the wall and waited for Kagome to work off some more steam. She decided to observe Sayuri instead of risk annoying Kagome more by staring at her. Sayuri was dressed in white today and not her usual light blue. She was trying to see if some meat she had found was still edible by gnawing on it. Once deciding that it wasn't any good she reached up to put it away and the fabric of her clothes covering her shoulder moved to reveal the mating mark. Sango started to blush furiously, understanding what must have happened the night before.

Kagome started to ask Sango for some help and turned to face her. She stopped when she saw Sango's reddened face.

'Sango….what's gotten into you?'

Sango absent mindedly took Kagome by the shoulders and turned her towards Sayuri. Kagome was still confused until she also saw what Sango was blushing at. It turned out that Sango was a bit more modest than Kagome, because Kagome ran up and gave Sayuri a huge hug, all bad feelings towards Inuyasha forgotten.

'Kagome….what are you….I can't breathe,' Sayuri managed to say.

'Congratulations Sayuri! Alright I thought this wasn't ever going to happen anytime soon.'

'Kagome, what are you talking about,' Sayuri asked innocently.

Kagome smiled all-knowingly. She had listened to Miroku's lesson on dog demon mating marks and remembered how sensitive the bite spot can be to pressure. She took two fingers and carefully pressed them over Inunobu's fang markings in Sayuri's neck. Sayuri shuddered and placed her hand on a counter for support.

'Oh,' Sayuri said, 'that's what you're talking about.'

'So,' Kagome asked mischievously, 'how was it?'

'Kagome I am not going to answer that question! It's not proper at all to discuss that with you, or anyone else for that matter,' Sayuri turned to walk away but spun around and grabbed both of Kagome's shoulders. 'It was wonderful!' she said with a giant smile on her face. Then she turned and casually walked away.

'Sango,' Kagome said dreamily, 'aren't you so happy for her.'

'Kagome, sometimes you scare me.'

**Sesshomaru's Office**

There was a knock at Sesshomaru's door. Sesshomaru told the knocker to enter and a servant came through the doorway.

'My Lord, your brother, the Lord Inunobu would like to see…' the servant stopped talking because Inunobu had already walked past him.

'How polite of you to barge in Inunobu,' Sesshomaru said bored. He gestured to the servant to leave. 'What is it, little brother?'

'Do you really intend to follow us? Are you going to try to go through that strange well Kagome lives in.'

'Yes.'

'Then I suggest you leave now because Inuyasha would do everything in his power to prevent you from getting into the well if he has a chance. Perhaps if you journey with him and don't get him angry he will not whine.'

'A warning. Hmm…does this mean you prefer me to Inuyasha? I find that hard to believe since I cannot stand you.'

'Barely.'

Inunobu walked out of the office hurriedly. Sesshomaru stood so that he could prepare to leave. He would take Rin with him, but Jaken could handle himself.

**With Sayuri**

Sayuri was getting restless. She wanted to leave the palace already. Lately it had given her bad memories every time she walked past the spot where Inunobu almost died. She had stayed completely out of the room where she had stayed with him while he recovered. She liked the idea of going on an adventure again. She didn't get too many of them because her father sheltered her so much. She hoped maybe her father would loosen his hold now that she had a mate to look after her.

Inunobu was walking towards Sayuri and the others. Rin walked with him because Sesshomaru had told her to go explain that she and Sesshomaru were coming with everyone. Sesshomaru needed to take care of political matters since he most likely would only come back to retrieve Jaken and Ah and Un before leaving the Western Lands for another long period of time.

'Lord Inunobu,' Rin said, 'why doesn't Lord Sesshomaru have fuzzy dog ears like you?'

'Rin if you keep asking so many questions there is no way I will be able to answer them all in time to—'

'Lord Inunobu, why do you and Lord Sesshomaru not get along?'

'Rin—'

'And why does Lord Sesshomaru always step on Lord Jaken?'

Inunobu put a hand over his face and sighed. He picked Rin up and placed her in front of Inuyasha so she could do as Sesshomaru had told her to. She reluctantly stopped her relentless questioning and told Inuyasha.

'Lord Inuyasha, Lord Sesshomaru told me to follow Lord Inunobu so that I could find you and tell you something.'

Inuyasha gave a bored look. 'What?'

'Lord Sesshomaru and I are coming with you!'

'WHAT!'

Kagome smiled at Rin. 'That's wonderful Rin. Isn't that wonderful Inuyasha?' she glared at him.

'Yeah….wonderful.'

Inunobu made his way over to Sayuri who smiled. Kagome caught Inunobu's attention and she put two of her fingers on her own neck in the same place Sayuri had her mating mark and winked. Inunobu's eyes widened a little before he regained his normal composure and acted like nothing had happened.

**On the Road Again**

To put it lightly, Inuyasha wasn't too happy. The group was traveling again, away from the Western Lands, which was good, but they had taken Inunobu, Sayuri, Sesshomaru, and Rin with them. He already didn't get along with Inunobu, and he flat out hated Sesshomaru. The thought of having another little kid around didn't agree with him at all. Kagome seemed happy to have everyone together, and she couldn't help smiling at Sayuri mischievously when she thought of the mating mark, which made Sayuri blush and look away. Miroku was thrilled to have the gorgeous demoness back among them, and Sango didn't mind, although she thought having Sesshomaru here would be a problem. Shippo was playing with Rin.

In reality the group was divided into three parts. Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, Sango, and Shippo for the most part stayed together. Behind them were Inunobu and Sayuri, and much farther back were Sesshomaru and Rin. It was awkward having an old enemy traveling with them, and it didn't help that Kaede's village was very far away, maybe four to five days of walking.

Inunobu still had a cold personality when in the presence of others. He didn't have any other image to project. He was quiet for the most part, and Sayuri just enjoyed talking to him, even if he responded with nods or short sentences.

The problem that hung on everyone's mind was what they were actually going to find when they got to the future. What if they really discovered what happened to all of the demons? Sesshomaru and Inunobu would live long enough to try to go back into the past and change it so that the demons still existed. But how would they go about looking for an answer? Kagome had mentioned something about museums maybe having clues, or even something about a library.

'Kagome, I'm hungry,' Shippo whined. His stomach was grumbling. He hadn't eaten since they left the kingdom in the morning.

'Oh, sorry Shippo but you ate all of the food in my pack weeks ago, remember? I haven't been home in a month and a half.' _My mom must be getting so worried. Hold on a bit longer mom I'm coming home._ Kagome realized that Mrs. Higurashi would probably not like Inunobu hanging around again or Sesshomaru for that matter. She was absolutely certain Souta would be terrified of Sesshomaru when he discovered who he was.

Inunobu muttered something to Sayuri before tearing off in the direction of the forest.

'What was that about?' Kagome asked.

Sayuri responded. 'He heard Shippo say he was hungry and also said he smelled some food that way.'

'Well,' Sango sighed, 'I guess that means we're stopping here.'

'Hey! I'm the leader of this group I decide when we rest,' Inuyasha said, impatient. He frowned when he heard his own stomach growl.

Inunobu, meanwhile, raced through the trees. This was the first time he had really run through the forest in a long time. There were no forests like these back in the Western Lands. He smelled a couple of pigs, which were much tastier than a wild boar. It should be plenty to feed everyone. The pigs were within sight now, grazing in a clearing. Inunobu crouched from his position in the tree and readied himself for a strike when he felt someone behind him. _The only person capable of sneaking up on me is Sesshomaru. _Inunobu spun himself around and couldn't believe what he saw. _A specter. Sightings are so rare; it is said that these beings only appear once every few centuries. Why would it choose to appear before me?_

'You….' The specter began speaking in a chilling voice. 'You must not discover…'

'I do not understand,' Inunobu replied.

'The secret…you must not discover it…'

'What secret, who are you?'

The specter was paler than white. She was transparent, and dressed in very outdated human clothes. She appeared to have once been human with jet-black hair and brown eyes. She bore a strange resemblance to both Kagome and Kikyo. Inunobu noticed she wore a sword on her back.

'Inunobu….son of the great dog demon….you cannot disrupt the flow of time.'

Inunobu noticed now that he could not move. He was slumped against the branch of the tree he was perched in. He was not paralyzed; it felt more like his limbs were asleep. The specter floated its way closer to him, so that only a foot separated them. She held up her hand, which materialized into real substance, and placed it on Inunobu's forehead. It was freezing cold. Inunobu's vision blurred.

'At least tell me…,' Inunobu barely spoke audibly, 'your….name.'

'It is Midoriko.'

Inunobu heard her name and gave into the darkness. It was the same type of power as Kikyo's, but much more potent. His head flipped backwards and he plummeted from the tree for fifty feet until he hit the ground. The back of his neck burned in his sleep.

It seemed like forever that he was dreaming. He floated in an empty void until finally he felt himself being drawn back to reality. A pair of hands was trying to shake him awake. He vaguely heard a voice.

'Guys! Over here I found him! Come on Inunobu wake up,' Kagome was saying.

'Ka…gome.'

'You're ok…what happened?'

Before he could say anything else the rest of the group had caught up. Sayuri knelt down and put her hands on his face and neck, trying to see if there were any injuries. When she discovered that nothing was wrong with him she sighed with relief.

'Inunobu don't scare us like that,' Sayuri said to the half-conscious demon.

The last effects of the sleep spell wore off and Inunobu bolted upright, trying to recall everything that had happened. The warrior human woman with the priestess powers, the name Midoriko, something about disrupting time, a secret; everything came back in a flood. _The only one who could possibly tell me what happened to me is Sesshomaru. He is old enough to perhaps have seen a specter himself._

'Sayuri?'

'Yes what is it….are you hurt at all?'

'No I am fine; I need you to get Sesshomaru here.'

'Ok,' Sayuri replied as she started back to the road where they had started looking for Inunobu. Sesshomaru had declined to help find him.

'Shippo,' Inunobu started, 'your food is right there,' he said pointing to the two pigs.

**Sesshomaru and Sayuri**

'So you found him?'

'Yes Lord Sesshomaru, he asked me to go get you.'

'He did not say what for?'

'No my Lord.'

Sesshomaru wondered what could have gotten to Inunobu. He could overpower his brother, but other than Sesshomaru, no one else could really harm him. Sayuri also said he was asleep when he was found, not hurt at all. Sesshomaru did not like where this was going.

'Oh, and Sayuri?'

'Yes Lord?'

'Since you are now technically part of the royal family, you do not have to call me Lord.'

'Ok…Sesshomaru, but how did you…'

'I can tell, your scent is different.'

Sayuri guided Sesshomaru over to where they found Inunobu. Inunobu looked up as his older brother approached. Rin followed close behind.

'Inunobu, what do you want with me?' Sesshomaru asked ill-tempered. 'Sayuri tells me you are not hurt in the least. Nothing pains you?'

'The back of my neck burns, but I suspect it was from the fall from that tree,' he said pointing at the highest branch where he fell from. Kagome, who was standing near where Inunobu was sitting, leaned over and shifted Inunobu's hair.'

'Wow that is so weird.'

'What is it?' Inunobu demanded, annoyed that Kagome was digging through his hair.

'The back of your neck, it has a purple crescent moon, just like the one on Sesshomaru's forehead.'

Sesshomaru's eyes widened. 'You saw a specter? Specters will mark those whom they choose to appear before with that symbol. What did it say?'

'It said do not discover the secret; do not interrupt the flow of time.'

Sesshomaru was deep in thought. _This specter must know that we are trying to discover the fate of the demons in the future. It must have known their fate. It was a human specter then._

'It was once human I assume.'

'Yes.'

'And what was its name?' Sesshomaru pressed on with the questioning.

'She called herself Midoriko.'

'What?' Kagome burst out. 'We have seen her before, or at least her remains. She was the priestess who created the Shikon Jewel.'

'This changes nothing,' Sesshomaru said emotionlessly, 'we continue forwards.'

**A/N: Me like reviews. **


End file.
